Touch the Sky
by Jini
Summary: His mission was to earn the Princess's trust and then return her to Headquarters. It was a simple task...so why did he have to make things complicated by falling in love with her? After all, that hadn't been part of the job description. [Roxiri]
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts doesn't belong to me.

Summary: His mission was to earn the Princess's trust and then return her to Headquarters. It was a simple task...so why did he have to make things complicated by falling in love with her? After all, that hadn't been part of the job description.

**Important note**: Looking back to the prologue I wrote many, many months ago, I thought my previous piece didn't quite move me as much as it did then. Something seemed lacking – the beginning of the story felt weak and the characters didn't come out as strongly as I'd intended. So, overall I was very dissatisfied with the prologue and have decided to rewrite its entirety.

Enjoy the new creation!

* * *

**Touch the Sky**

Prologue

Roxas blinked. 

"You want me to do _what_?" he said in disbelief. He felt the back of his neck slowly heating in the closeness of the dark room.

"You heard me," said Xemnas quietly, his amber eyes unflinching.

Roxas gaped and had nothing he could say to that. He wasn't pleased. No. If he was anything, he was pissed. But not pissed enough to scream out in frustration just yet – he was still in shock after all. He was simply teetering, that was it. He was near the edge between total explosion and total calmness – and at any moment the balance would be tipped. The only question was _when_? He was still in a state of shock, but it was doubtful he'd remain so once the information just told to him finally sunk in.

Roxas knew the actual chances that he'd fall back into entire calmness again when that happened were far from likely. Not when the ugly look on his face kept getting uglier and uglier by the second as the clock ticked. Pretty soon, he was barely able to hide the fact he was now scowling – and he was – completely and out in the open.

It was amazing how one could go from being in total serenity to total irritation in just ten minutes flat; it was a quality he possessed that he'd say would scare most, but in this case he didn't know how to feel.

"Do I make myself clear, No. 13?" said Xemnas as folded his hands together. "I want you to go to Destiny Islands and retrieve the seventh Princess of Heart back to headquarters immediately."

000

Roxas sat quietly and alone. He liked the view up on this clock tower, which was saying a lot, considering beings like him had no perception to things that most would deem beautiful, but Roxas knew breath-taking when he saw one, and it didn't take a genius to know that it was this – this sunset horizon before him. The one he so often looked at and spent hours on end simply lost in its orangey (almost golden) and reddish hue. But he mostly came up here to think, to clear his mind or relieve himself. In this case it was every single one of these options.

The breeze was cool, but not chilly; there was warmth that touched his cheeks just before the coolness settled. The breeze ran through his hair, his ears, his neck, and he allowed it to gently slip through his fingers, vaguely enjoying the pleasant feel of warmth and coolness brush his skin. He didn't think it was possible for a place like this to ever get cold. It was hardly morning here either, nor night, so it would make sense that it was neither hot or cold. It was just… Twilight. His home. His place.

Funny enough, he could hardly remember ever being born here – or being born at all – but he felt an odd connection each time he looked up at that glowing, rosy sky, and again, there was much significance in that itself, bearing in mind he wasn't supposed to _feel_, let alone connect with anything. However, he did; with this small town, with its view – with everything. But at the same time, he felt empty. It was strange, feeling like you were a part of something, but knowing full well that you weren't part of anything at all.

If someone thought that that was sad, he would simply snort at their naivety and tell them: This was the fate of the Nobodies. It wasn't about to change. And nor was he. That was who he was. A Nobody. An empty shell of something once whole.

He once stopped trying to fill in that empty void he felt inside himself because he knew he couldn't. After all, how could one piece together the fragments of a heart when he had no fragments, had no heart, to begin with? It was impossible to work with something you lacked, or in his case, with something you didn't have.

Yes, he supposed it _was_ quite poignant when one thought of it objectively and in some ways he may even call himself a cynic. But, alas, that was fate. And he knew all too well just how nasty fate could be. And fate definitely had a way of turning even the optimists into cynics.

"Ah, well, if it isn't my site-searching little buddy," said a voice behind him.

Roxas looked up, startled.

"Axel," he said as he spotted the wild redhead man standing just a few feet away from the side of the clock building. He had his arms crossed over his chest, looking on with a brief but evident grin on his face.

"I figured I'd find you here," he said as he took a seat beside him. "Here," he reached into his pocket, "a treat. For being a good boy and not killing the boss-man right then and there with the scary look on your face."

He handed Roxas the sea-salt ice cream bar, which was wrapped in a napkin – an obvious and poor attempt at keeping the said ice cream bar from melting.

"Heh…sorry about that," said Axel as Roxas took the ice cream bar, unsure whether he should find it appealing or disgusting. "I'd have given it to you sooner but Saix held me up." He shook his head and grumbled, "I swear… he's driving me up the wall with all these stupid missions."

"Join the club," Roxas muttered, deciding to place the ice cream bar aside.

"What's so bad about yours?" said Axel, raising his brow. "In my opinion you got off lucky. I'm stuck with _Marluxia _and _Larxene_ all day and you know how they are." He made a face. "I can just see it now. Their idea of spending extra time would be plucking wings off of flies and scraping their fingernails on chalkboards."

"Yeah, I suppose it is bad if you put it like _that_," said Roxas, rolling his eyes.

"Pfft," Axel scoffed. "Easy for you to say. While I'm _here_ experiencing hell on earth, you're going to be off enjoying some sunshine and cavorting with a Princess who could very well be a babe for all you know."

Roxas glared at him and felt his cheeks color slightly, to his distaste.

"I. Will. Not. Be. Cavorting. With. A. Babe," he said through clenched teeth. He crossed his arms over his chest with indignation. "I'm not going. Period."

Axel's eyes bulged from their sockets. "_What?_ Why not?"

Roxas's glare intensified. "I refuse to stoop to one of Xemnas's stupid schemes," he grumbled. "I'm not one of his lackeys. And I am certainly not his latch dog. If he wants this so-called _Princess_ he can go fetch her himself."

"You're aware you can't just refuse, right?" said Axel, shaking his head. "The boss's orders are like law."

"The thing I want to know," fumed Roxas, ignoring him, "is why he picked _me_. Why not anybody else? I'm sure that crackpot-Xaldin would have jumped at the idea to kidnap little girls—"

"Hey, you're the boss's favorite, not me. How should I know?"

Roxas snorted. "The boss's favorite? _Me?_ Hah. That's a joke." His expression turned sour. "If I'm his favorite then why does he constantly enjoy torturing me like this?"

Axel shrugged. "The boss-man must have a weird way of showing it…"

"Tell me about it," Roxas grumbled, annoyed. He rubbed his eyes. "I hate to see how he treats people who _aren't_ his favorite."

"He's probably _nice_ to them," Axel snickered. "In that case, maybe you _are_ lucky that he likes you."

"Yeah," said Roxas, who finally cracked a smile.

They were silent for a couple minutes. Finally, Axel turned to him. "Breath-taking, isn't it?" he said lightly, at the view.

"Yeah," Roxas agreed. "It's beautiful."

"You're probably the only one I know who can actually say that and mean it," said Axel, with a tiny grin. "The rest of us don't have hearts to really understand the concept of what's beautiful and what isn't."

Roxas shook his head. "I don't have a heart…" he murmured, and he placed a hand over his chest, feeling nothing in respond. "It's just a feeling…"

"A feeling…" Axel said quietly. "Nobodies don't have feelings either."

"I know that. Argh. I don't know how to explain it," Roxas muttered, a tad frustrated. He leaned into his palms and glared at the sunset, wondering to himself, how one can describe a feeling … that _wasn't_ a feeling? At least not really.

He mentally slapped himself. _Stop_, he thought. _You're only confusing yourself_.

"What do you mean?"

Roxas shook his head. "It's like… being empty… totally empty inside, yet at the same time you can't help but feel like you aren't as empty as you'd thought. There's still a glimmer … I don't know… a _something_… that there's… but it's so small and almost non-existent that instead of feeling whole you feel half-empty. Incomplete…" he trailed off slowly, realizing how this must have sounded, and laughed. "Sorry. That must have made no sense at all, huh?"

However, Axel was regarding him with a different expression. It was humorless. It was serious… and something else Roxas couldn't peg. But it was gone in a second the moment Roxas thought to look again.

"Heh... you've been hanging around Zexion way to long," Axel said, with mock disapproval. "All that time spent in the library must have shut your brain down or something."

"Gee. Thanks," said Roxas, sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Hey. It wouldn't hurt if _you _went to the library once in a while, you know? I heard making yourself smarter isn't unhealthy."

"Who needs to make myself smarter," Axel replied breezily, "when I have enough to satisfy me right here?" He tapped his forehead with a smirk.

"Are you sure about that?" replied Roxas loftily. "I've hung out with you long enough to know there's nothing in there."

"Oh shut up and jump off the tower already."

It was Roxas's turn to smirk.

"Alright, alright," said Axel, waving his hands in annoyance. "I'll read a couple books; educate myself and all that smart jazz… blah blah blah. But _you_ gotta take the boss's offer and retrieve that princess."

Roxas's smile faded instantly. He'd almost forgotten about the princess. Damnit. _Argh_, he thought as he gave Axel a withering expression, _thanks for nothing, Axel_.

"No thanks," he said bluntly. "I admit the idea that I can finally carry on an intelligent conversation with you is tempting… and maybe even nice… but I'm not _that_ desperate to throw away my whole life."

Axel ignored his comment, and groaned, "Come on. Why the hell not?"

"Why the hell _should_ I?" he snapped, glaring heatedly at the redhead. "I don't _kidnap_ people. That kind of shit isn't my thing, alright?" He got up and walked a few feet away, breathing heavily.

Axel stared at him for a while before standing up as well.

"No one said you had to kidnap her," he said, dusting his arms and his legs. "You just have to use your dynamic charm and wit to…uh… gain her favor. That's all."

"You mean _trick_ her," Roxas hissed, severely. "Lie to her; _make_ her trust me through deceit, is that it?" He turned to Axel with a blazed expression.

The redhead sighed heavily.

"You don't get it, do you?" said Axel coldly, matching his hard expression with one of his own. "If you don't do this the Superior will destroy you. And then what, Roxas? You can't fulfill your goals dead, can you? Didn't you tell me you had other objectives? That, _that _was why you joined this Organization in the first place?"

Roxas looked away.

"Look, I'm not saying this 'cause the Boss-man made me – even though that _is_ what he technically asked me to do," said Axel, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm saying this 'cause I'm saving your ass. So you still have a damn chance to get out of this stupid Order."

Roxas sighed. "Why?" he muttered. "Why me? You could just save yourself… I'm not the only one who wants to break out of this stupid Organization."

"I don't have anything left," said Axel with a shrug. "My former self was destroyed a long time ago. There's nothing for me to return to. I have nothing."

"And what makes you think _I'm_ any different?" Roxas asked with a frown.

Axel smiled, and there was that secretive gleam in his green eyes again as he said, "Just a feeling, I guess."

Roxas didn't know what to make of that, so he looked away. The way Axel just said all those things… so carelessly, as if it didn't matter he no longer had anything left, it felt kind of sad. It made Roxas for some reason feel… guilty.

After a while, he threw his hands up in the air and sighed in exasperation. "I know I'm going to regret saying this… but… fine I'll do it." Axel's expression turned hopeful, to which Roxas hastily (and gruffly) added, "_But _that doesn't mean I'm going to like it."

"Alright!" He grabbed Roxas by the neck and gave him a noogie. "I knew you'd come around," said Axel, grinning widely.

"Get off!" Roxas said, shoving him away with a slight smirk on his face. "_You_ still gotta read all those books, remember?"

"Aw… shucks." Axel pouted. "You really know how to spoil my fun."

"Anyway, I gotta go," Roxas muttered, thrusting his hands into his pockets and turning to leave. "I have to see the Superior," at this he made a face of utter disgust, "and tell him I accept the mission."

"Pray that he doesn't start treating you nicely," said Axel, waving at him.

"That's the least of my worries," Roxas grumbled. "If all goes according to plan… Xemnas will torture me forever…" He groaned.

Axel snorted. "Well, good luck or whatever…" he said. "Oh… and Roxas?"

Roxas, who'd been about to walk off then, suddenly stopped and looked back. "What?"

"Don't," said Axel jokingly, "fall in love with her."

Roxas snorted. "Please. That's the last thing from my mind right now." He rolled his eyes. "Besides… didn't you say Nobodies can't feel anything?"

He turned and left, but by that time it was too late to see the regretful look cross Axel's face at that precise moment.

000

He stared at the words typed neatly on the sheet of paper in his hand with a not-so-happy smile on his face.

Mission: gain the Princess's trust and then return her to Headquarters.

Great.

Apparently, they didn't trust him to remember something so basic, not to mention something he'd been brooding about all afternoon. He snorted. Typical, he thought sourly, they still thought of him a baby.

He sighed heavily, mussing up his blonde hair from over his bright blue eyes, gravely annoyed now. He supposed there was no way around it now. He had to do this mission. After speaking with the Superior, who had the nerve to smirk at him in that way like he _knew_ Roxas would see his way eventually; it made Roxas rethink twice about his decision, wondering if it was so wise to have let Axel talk him into it.

Well, he thought as an afterthought, if all goes wrong he'd know who to blame.

Yes, it was all Axel's fault.

Roxas sighed. This mission was definitely going to be a hassle, he thought dully. Not to mention… this _princess_ – he made a face – sounded like a handful. Roxas disliked anything that required him using more effort than was actually needed. He just hoped she wasn't anything like Larxene. If she was, he was going to his Superior and shoving this sheet of paper right up his ass, light saber or not.

_And return her to Headquarters…? _Roxas scoffed. _You mean kidnap her!_ He didn't understand why they didn't just write it the way they intended it, instead of sugar-coating it with nonsense.

He just… didn't like the idea of kidnapping however. Organization XIII did things – mostly despicable things to attain what they want/need, and he'd admit he'd done his own fair share of shit for the sake of their cause, but Roxas wouldn't count himself as one of Xemnas's flunkies.

But of course, he could not object to this; it was inevitable… another word that meant he had absolutely no choice on the matter.

There was static that went off in his ear as someone spoke to him.

"**Thirteen, I repeat, 13, do you copy? Over." **

Roxas rolled his eyes. The earpieces were a ridiculous idea, however Demyx along with that bastard Xigbar insisted on it. This was a simple task, not mission impossible, he'd wanted to tell them. But of course they never listened to him. No one ever did.

"**I said, NO.13, DO YOU COPY! OVER!"** That was...most definitely Larxene; his ears were ready to fall off from the sheer volume of her voice.

"Yeah...I copy," he muttered, wincing. "Over."

More static.

"**Then proceed to Gateway 11."**

Static.

"Copy that," said Roxas, emotionless and unenthusiastic as ever.

Roxas pulled his hood up over his head, another sigh escaping his lips. He was going to hate this mission, for sure. It had doom written all over it, practically. He reached the doorway with the number eleven stamped on it, thinking maybe he still had a chance to escape. Sure, Larxene would probably hunt his ass down and kill him, not to mention Xigbar, Luxord, Demyx and well the rest of those morons would call him a wimp for the rest of his life and never let him hear the end of it – and of course there was also Xemnas, who will not only use him as his punching bag but would torture him mercilessly for backing out. Hm… that didn't sound _that_ bad, now did it?

However the moment of mulling over this potentially bright thought was cut short as a pool of blackness engulfed the entire door before him.

The static in his ear had returned seconds later.

"**Gateway 11 has now been opened. Please proceed." **

_Yipee,_ thought Roxas sarcastically, wondering if he should do a little dance for cheer while he was at it. He shut his eyes briefly, feeling a headache coming on already.

"**Oh and Roxas," **Larxene added sweetly into the speakers, "**If you fail this mission I'll definitely kick your ass. Understood? Over and out!"**

Roxas sighed, stepping into the darkness.

Yes, he was definitely going to hate this mission.


	2. Incognito

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts does not belong to me.

Author's note: Sorry for the long wait. And to answer some of you: no, I have not completely dropped off the face of the Earth, nor have I forgotten about this fic. It's just that I was busy and didn't have as much time as I used to.

Thank you to those who reviewed by the way; the encouragements were highly appreciated. **Also, I ****rewrote**** the prologue, so before you read this you might want to read that. **

Now, onto the story!

* * *

**Touch the Sky**

**Chapter One: Incognito**

Roxas stepped out of the black portal and was immediately blinded by such a fierce intensity of white light. It took a while for his sense of vision to accommodate the brightness and by that time he was already feeling very sticky beneath his black coat.

Just where the heck was this place? He thought as he tugged slightly on his collar. There was a trail of sweat that had already begun to roll down his neck.

As his sight finally cleared, the first thing he took note of was the sand readily seeping into his boots. And the next was the ocean.

He was at a beach, he thought, somewhat dumbfounded.

Somehow, he'd expected something less outdoorsy and tropical and something more urban … and well… _princess-like_. Apparently, a stifling island in the middle of a vast body of water wasn't the type of place he had in mind where a princess should be.

There was a familiar static in his ear as his communication device started up again. Roxas braced himself for the painstaking screech that was surely to follow, but to his surprise, a different voice spoke through the ear piece:

"**No.13, confirm your position. Over." **

It was Axel.

Roxas sighed in relief.

"This is No.13," he replied. "Transport was a complete success and I've made it to section 09878865." He paused and then said, "Destiny Islands."

There was more static as Axel then said: **"Very well. Stay where you are until you receive further instructions." **

"Copy that," Roxas muttered and with a last crackle of static from the other end, the line was cut; leaving Roxas alone in this foreign place.

However, he'd never been here before, for some bizarre reason he felt like he had; there was something about this island that made him feel… at home. Realizing how that must have sounded, Roxas mentally whapped himself for the stray thought. He'd never been to section 09878865 in his life, so logically, there was no way he could have felt right "at home" here. Right?

Roxas's mouth formed a deep frown in his confusion. He may not have _been_ here before, but certainly there was something eerie about this island that was making him think strangely and not at all like himself. He shook his head and looked outward into the ocean again.

From overhead he could see the blue of the waters growing darker and deeper; the white whips of clouds billowing by nearly touching the surfaces as flocks of birds flew into the sky, which was just as bright and as blue with the sun shining so intensely. Behind him were unfamiliar, rather larger than the average size, trees growing, with baby bushes cushioned at its sides; and within the trees, Roxas could make out the recognizable shape of coconuts hanging from the branches.

He tugged on the collar of his coat again as the heat became more painfully apparent. He unzipped the front of his uniform quickly and was immediately disappointed when not even a wave of fresh air rushed passed him. The air was humid and sticky and it definitely didn't help matters in terms of keeping him cool. Seconds later, he'd had enough; he unzipped his coat entirely, threw the article of clothing over his shoulders along with his gloves, and sighed a little with relief as the space around him grew less hot.

"Looks like you're enjoying yourself already," said an unexpected voice.

Roxas nearly jumped out of his boots. He saw Axel standing there with a smirk across his face.

"Holy shit, Axel, you scared the shit…out…of…" he trailed of as he realized what it was Axel was wearing: a bright yellow shirt with a coconut tree stretched across the front and baggy, grey shorts with more coconut trees lined at the hem and pockets. He was wearing matching grey flip-flops, along with a pair of goggles suspended around his neck.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Roxas choked.

"This?" said Axel, pointing at his outfit. "Why I believe it's called a golf-shirt."

"Yes, I can see that," said Roxas with annoyance and disbelief. "But I mean: _why_?"

"You like it?" said Axel, looking excited. "Larxene picked it out for—"

"No, I mean _why_ the fuck are you wearing it?"

"Tut. Tut. Tut. Roxas, don't cuss," said Axel with mock astonishment. "Remember: princesses don't like men who have potty-mouths. And in your case, a whole lot of it."

"Yeah?" said Roxas as he picked up his clothes off the sand floor with a scowl on his face. "Well, I'm sure what she doesn't know won't hurt her. But seriously: what the hell are you doing here …and dressed like _that_?" he added, eyeing his friend wearily. His eyes focused way too long on the coconut across his shirt and didn't know whether to be amused or horrified at such a terrible combination.

Axel shrugged with a grin. "Would you believe me if I told you I was ditching Marluxia and Larxene to come hang out with you?"

"Only if you wanted a death wish, yes," replied Roxas simply, who knew Larxene to be a formidable person when angered. Axel was a goof, but certainly not stupid. And Roxas doubted that his friend would want his balls used as target practice for Larxene's lethal darts. And who knew what Marluxia would do to extract vengeance.

"True," said Axel amusedly. He shrugged. "Alright. I've been caught. Here." He handed Roxas a folder.

Roxas took it and flipped it open. Instantly, he caught a picture of a girl inside. Beside the photo was an assortment of documents and other files of information, most likely related to this girl, he thought as he looked back once again to the photo.

"That's the target," Axel explained, briefly looking at the picture himself. "All you need to know from where she's from to what she ate last Saturday night is in that folder." He slipped his hand into his shorts pocket and took out another slip of paper. "Here are the rest of your instructions."

He handed it to Roxas, who was barely paying attention. His eyes were trained on the girl. Only on the girl.

_So… this is the Princess of Heart_, he thought, taking in her appearance with something akin to awe; as much as this place surprised him so did this girl. She looked hardly the princess-type at all, but he supposed… there was something about her that made him agree that she could pull off the princess role rather well.

The picture given was poorly taken; there were places in the photograph that were blurred, as if the camera used to take it had been jerked unexpectedly or perhaps the girl had moved in the last second, resulting in the pitiable shot. However, he could at least make out her face. A heart-shaped face with rosy cheeks and eyes as blue as the sky; she had short; red hair that barely went passed her shoulders. In the picture, she was wearing a white sundress with a silver chain hanging from her neck. There were others in the picture beside her, but Roxas could hardly make out their appearances; on her left there was someone with brown hair and on her other side he could see a flash of orange and blonde hair.

Roxas frowned. There was something about this girl, he thought. He didn't know what, but he couldn't explain why he was so drawn to her; he could barely stop looking at her face.

"A babe, isn't she?" said Axel, over his shoulder.

"Waah!" he yelled, jumping away.

"Oops. My bad," Axel chortled, looking the least bit apologetic. "Admit it Roxas, she's not bad-looking," he said teasingly.

"I never said that," Roxas said through clenched teeth. However, to his horror, he felt his face flame. He hastily shut the folder and tucked it his coat. He scowled at his friend. "If you have anything else you'd like to tell me, you'd better tell me now."

"Oh, okay. Well, it said on her file that she's about your age: 14-15… so…" Axel's smile grew wicked and he made a furtive jerk with his eyebrows. "Maybe…?"

"No," said Roxas flatly, the red hue on his cheeks darkening significantly. His scowl deepened. "Is that all you think about? _Geez_. And I was talking about the mission!"

"Aw, c'mon, Roxas," said Axel with a roll of his eyes. "Don't be such a stiff. You're a teenager for goodness sakes – raging hormones and oozing testosterones are the stage now!"

The blonde gave him a look between alarm and dispassion.

"I read it in a _book_," Axel explained, swelling with pride.

Roxas groaned.

"_What?_" said Axel, confused, "You told me to read a book and I did! I _am_—"

"Read another book!" Roxas snapped.

"Fine, fine, fine," Axel placated. "I'll get another book."

Roxas sighed. "Alright," he said with renewed calmness, "Is there anything else – _regarding the mission_ – that I need to know?"

Axel made a wave with his hand and something appeared through a cloud of dark smoke. When it dissipated, Roxas realized it was a duffle bag. Black. Go figure.

He bent down and opened the bag, only to find a line of spare clothes, among other things. When he looked up Axel gave a shrug.

"You're gonna be here a while, I'm sure," he replied. "So there should be everything you need packed in there for a couple weeks: some clothes – trust me, this place will kill you if you wear that coat all day – bathroom utensils, toiletry, some home movies (courtesy of me, of course), trust me… you'll need those. And most importantly the hardware from the HQ has also been packed. Once you find a place to stay you can set up a database that will be directly linked to the main computers at Headquarters."

"Yippee," droned Roxas. "To think… I was going to spend two full weeks without seeing all of your ugly mugs—"

"Sorry, Boss's orders," said Axel, getting up and handing him the bag. Roxas took it with less enthusiasm. "Anyway, if there is anything else you need just use the equipment."

"Right, right," Roxas muttered.

And they both lapsed into silence.

Finally, Roxas cleared his throat. "You know, Axel… thanks," he said and looked away, slightly embarrassed.

Axel smiled. "Is the infamous Key of Destiny developing a soft spot?" he asked jokingly.

"I mean it," said Roxas gruffly, his hands thrust deep into his pockets. "I appreciate you looking out for me. You're a really good friend… probably the only one I got."

Axel's smile faded slightly. "Ah, I'm touched, really," he said with a hint of amusement. And then his face grew serious. "Be careful, Roxas."

Roxas frowned. "What do you mean?"

The redhead shook his head. "Just don't let your guard down," he murmured.

Roxas's frown deepened but he nodded silently.

"Okay," said Axel, returning to his cheery demeanor again. "Looks like you've got everything. Remember the rest of your assignment is on that sheet of paper. Oh and keep in mind what I said earlier, Roxas," he added. Roxas watched him carefully as Axel said, looking more serious than he'd ever seen him in his life, "Don't fall in love with her, okay?"

Roxas's face formed into an ugly scowl. "And I told you earlier that I wouldn't," he said, annoyed. He crossed his arms. "Well, if that's everything you can go now."

"Right, right," said Axel and then began to walk in the opposite direction. "See ya, partner!" He waved over his shoulder. Roxas did not return the gesture; he was still irritated with him for the previous comment.

A large pool of darkness opened before him. With one last meaningful look, Axel stepped into the portal and was gone.

Roxas sighed heavily. That Axel was trouble. Looking around, he suppose now he should set up base.

He went into town, which he quickly discovered wasn't as small as he'd pegged it to be. There was a variety of different shops – from jewelry shops to tiny thrift shops – all spread across the land, and he found a marketplace where he could do some grocery shopping; there were a lot of people, most of whom had stopped to stare at him while he made his detour. As he continued to maneuver around the market, he caught sight of some fairly large motels on the side of the road.

He gripped his bag to him tighter before proceeding to enter. Inside, he found the main desk immediately. It wasn't that hard to spot considering there was only one man stationed in the room. The rest of the area was vacant, save for the sofas situated by a fireplace that was not lit. Beside them were shelves and a rack filled with flyers and encyclopedia books; around the centre was a table with a bowl of fruit and an assortment of wildflowers encircled underneath it.

As Roxas approached the desk, he couldn't help but think if he was the only plausible customer to have entered here in days? Maybe weeks. Who knows? All he knew was the man sitting by the main office smiled way too brightly for someone who was so used to this job.

"Hello, sir," he greeted instantly. "Renting a room for the week? You look like you might be here a while," he added, pointing at the large bulk jutting out Roxas's duffle bag.

Roxas placed a protective hand over the bag and shook his head. "No, not that long. Just for the night," he said.

The man nodded and began to jot that in the computers.

"Alright," he said and handed Roxas a clipboard. "Now, if you could just sign this please, I'll bring you right to your room."

Roxas hesitated as he took the clipboard from him. Just below a series of bylaws, Roxas spotted a line for his signature. Trouble was he hadn't quite found a code name for himself while he was here yet. This could be bad for his cover, he thought as he placed the clipboard back onto the table.

"Uh, on second thought," said Roxas. "Do you know where I may find a place to stay? Like rent?"

The man frowned. "Yes, there is a place down the street. Um… _Vacation Time_, I believe is what it's called—"

"Thanks," said Roxas and he turned back the way he came, into the busy plaza.

He followed the directions the man had given him and minutes later he saw the bright structure of _Vacation Time_ right ahead. It was a smaller shop than the ones he'd passed by, painted a golden shade of yellow while a big sign overhead spelt 'Vacation Time' in baby blue calligraphy. On the windows was a collection of colored pictures; there was a yellow sun on one corner of the glass and a beach. And just underneath that, in bright red, was another sign that said: Looking for that perfect spot for your _Dream_ vacation? We can help.

Roxas walked through the opened door and was instantly greeted by a man dressed similarly in the shirt Axel had been wearing before: a bright yellow golf-shirt with a large coconut tree stretched across the front. Roxas considered seconds after he walked in whether this was such a good idea, however, the man was already thumping him happily on the back and welcoming him in further into the shop.

"Welcome, welcome, stranger," he said cheerfully. "Looking for a beach house of some sort maybe? Summer is the perfect time of the year!"

"I suppose," said Roxas, who really didn't care about a beach house.

"You're in luck, sir," said the man, grinning, "there is one spot vacant and it's just by the ocean – a beautiful lookout if you're really into the scenic route. I highly recommend that one."

"Sure," said Roxas, still with disinterest. "How much would it cost to stay there for a couple weeks?"

"About 8000 munny," said the man. Roxas blanched. However, the man simply smiled. "But considering you're our first customer in weeks I'll cut you some slack. How's about we make it 6000, is that a deal?"

Roxas considered this. If he stayed at a motel then surely the price to stay for two weeks would be double the money offered here. He realized that there were probably many other shops, such as this, that were on the low side of things; apparently the motel wasn't the only place who hadn't received customers in a long time and who knew what the charges would be if he decided to go to another. It may even be more bogus than the price this man was willing to offer for a couple weeks.

He sighed heavily, seeing no way around it. "Alright," he agreed. "I'll take it."

The man was ecstatic. "Perfect, perfect, sir," he said. "Oh, no you don't have to pay right away," he added when Roxas took out his wallet. "The bonus of our services is that you don' need to pay until the end of this week, so incase you're experiencing some difficulties paying for it you could always get a job. There are many opportunities here to work. But I suppose since you're on vacation you don't want to work, do you—"

"I'm actually on a business trip," said Roxas.

"A business trip, eh?" said the man, who looked him up and down with a hint of confusion and admiration. "You look a little young to be on business. What are you fourteen…fifteen?"

"Fifteen, actually," said Roxas stiffly and then he frowned. "Not that it's any of your business, but my father runs a business close to these islands. He's trying to invest in other parts as much as possible in order to expand the industry. He raised me to be self-sufficient and independent, and considering I will one day uphold the family business it's only natural that he'd send his only son to do some of his work for him. As you can see my father is a very busy man."

"Sorry, sir, I meant no harm," said the man apologetically. "Okay, I'll get some papers for you to sign. Be right back."

The man went into the back of the shop and Roxas exhaled a sigh of relief. He realized now was the time to read the rest of his assignment, lest more people started getting more and more suspicious and started asking more questions. He took out the sheet of paper from his pocket and unfolded it carefully.

**No. 13: Roxas  
Code: 005672893-AlphaS.  
Sector: 09878865 of Division 1267 – Destiny Islands **

**Alias: Fujioma Takeru  
Age: 15  
Background: Parents are wealthy business owners of industrialized Crop Companies. They sent their youngest son away on vacation, because it seems his playboy habits is causing major interferences in the family business—**

Roxas did his best not to return to Headquarters right now and find the son of a bitch who typed up his stupid excuse of a background story. He had a few people in mind and he made a promise – a very deadly promise – to himself that they'd all be receiving a visit from him very soon. He got the impression Axel was one of those few he'd be paying a visit to.

Gritting his teeth and quite reluctantly now, Roxas went back to his reading:

**Having been kicked out of boarding school twice, his parents felt that by sending him to a less affluent board of education they may once and for all tame the boy's insatiable thirst for parties and hot chicks—**

_Okay. That was it!_ Roxas thought furiously, these people were _so_ going to die. They took too much pleasure in his pain for his own taste. He could just it now: Xigbar and Demyx, giggling together while they coaxed Zexion into typing out what they wanted as Lexaeus, Luxord and Larxene roared in fits of laughter in the background. He didn't care if this assignment went bad or not, but he knew by the end of it the Order would have fewer members in it than it should. And then Xemnas won't have any choice but to rename Organization XIII to Organization VII.

"Idiots," he muttered, clenching the sheet in his hand tightly, wishing very badly it was someone else's neck instead, "Every single of them."

"Alright, I'm back," said the man, who appeared from out of no where, nearly startling Roxas completely. "Sorry, it took so long but… oh my, are you alright? You look a bit tensed – you're face is all red!"

"I'm fine," said Roxas, harsher than he meant it to. "They're just pests." _Just wait till I take out my fly-swatter… _

The man didn't catch the double meaning of his words and nodded slowly. "Okay, well… that's what happens when you live in a tropical island. Don't worry… you'll get used to it, and if anything else there is always bug repellent—"

"Yeah, I know," said Roxas, cutting him off. "Thanks."

The man smiled a little nervously and then handed him a clipboard. "Just fill out this sheet – most of the questions are optional, as we do respect our customer's privacy, but so long as we have your name and signature then it should be fine."

Roxas filled out what was necessary, signed his name – Fujioma Takeru – at the bottom and then handed the clipboard back to the man, who clapped his hands together happily.

"Alright, sir, you're all set!" he said, looking pleased. "Now, I'll come with you and escort you to your new dream home!"

They walked back into the village, passed the town, to where Roxas had first arrived for the first time. They walked along the beach for ten minutes; occasionally, the man would rattle on and describe the scenery, mention a few nice places in the islands where he could take pictures, grab a bite to eat and shop for clothes, etc. Roxas listened off and on, more focused on his whereabouts than what the man was actually saying. He nodded once or twice when addressed to but otherwise he carried on in silence. It wasn't until they reached a little clearing on the side of the beach, where a couple more of those coconut trees could be seen in between a few baby bushes and some flower shrubs did Roxas spotted the house.

It was like a cottage, much smaller than the average house he'd seen in the main villages, but was equally as nice looking. The entirety was made mostly of brick, a deep, dark red, like wine in color while the roof was of a lighter texture. The porch, however, was made of wood and looked very shiny and smooth as the sun hit its surface. The door was of an oak, a rich, vibrant shade of mahogany with a crystal-like window at the middle. And just above it was the number seven in black ink.

"Well, here we are, sir," said the man as he took out the key from his pocket. He opened the door and led Roxas inside.

It felt much smaller inside, but it was cozy and comfortable enough that Roxas felt right at home. There was an earthy, rich sent looming inside; it smelt strangely of wood and wind mingling together. There was a hallway that led deeper into the house and a flight of stairs just next to them.

"Now here," said the man as he led Roxas down the hall, "is the living room. It tends to get really cold here at night, so there's a fireplace installed just there. See?"

He allowed Roxas to inspect every inch of the place. The living room seemed like the biggest part of the house; there was a wide window adjacent to the fireplace, with faded yellow curtains hanging at opposite ends so that the view of the beach and the ocean could be seen just outside. Somewhere next to the window was a velvety green sofa and a pull-over couch of the same color.

"And on the other side," the man went on, pointing across the living room, "is the kitchen."

The living room opened up into the kitchen, where there was a stove by the wall, along with a refrigerator and a sink in between the two. At the centre was a tall, black table with two chairs of the same design. Up above the sink were an assortment of cupboards, which, when Roxas opened one of them, had already an alignment of plates and glass cups; and the drawer just beneath the sink was filled with knives, spoons and forks.

"Wow," Roxas commented, genuinely impressed, "you guys have everything here."

"Yeah, well our services make sure our visitors are comfortable," he said proudly. "And up here," they made a detour back down the hall and up the flight of stairs, "is your bedroom."

The bedroom was small but still spacious enough for both men to maneuver around in comfortably. There was another window just a few paces from where the bed stood, and it was much like the one in the living room only not as wide; it was decorated with the same faded curtains and through it Roxas could make out the path along the beach in which they'd walked on earlier. The bed itself was quite grand for just one person; in fact it could probably take up three at most, because it was that large. The mattress was a soft blue color with a couple fluffy pillows by the headboard. Next to the bed was a small, round wooden table with a pull-out chair and on the other side was a slide-in closet.

"It's attached to the bathroom," said the man, while Roxas walked around, "And on your other side is the laundry room."

Roxas and the man both went back downstairs and out the door.

"Well, if you need anything – anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask," said the man encouragingly, "Especially if there's a problem. We'll send a repairman or whatever on the way if you need anything."

Roxas nodded. "Alright. I think I should be okay, though," he said. He held out his hand. "Thanks for your help… Mr…?"

"Ah, Mr. Nomura," he said happily, taking Roxas's hand and shaking it firmly. "Always a pleasure, Fujioma-san, sir. Well, here's your key. Enjoy your stay!"

And with a little wave over his shoulder, he was gone.

Roxas returned back to the house. He decided to quickly unpack and start setting up the database network. He went upstairs to his appointed bedroom and hastily, but carefully, began to unload his belongings onto the bed.

He found a stack of clothes; shirts, shorts, pants, underwear (he hoped Axel didn't pack that for him), some sweaters; the next he found were the bathroom utensils – his toothbrush, toothpaste and a cloth to wipe his face, along with a bar of soap and a bottle of shampoo.

He placed those aside and found a pile of movies – true to Axel's word; however, one good look at the titles and he immediately threw them across the room, his face red with embarrassment and annoyance. Typical that the kinds of movies Axel took for amusement would be porno videos! Blegh.

Roxas proceeded with the rest of the things. He found a laptop, along with some cables and wires; there was a communicator, a cell phone, some headphones plus some large speakers. He assembled them as instructed before he pressed the 'on' button on the side of the laptop, eliciting the start-up screen. He waited a couple seconds before a toolbar popped at the centre of the screen, indicating that he should type in his username and password.

He reached back into his pocket for the sheet of paper he crumpled and unfolded it. He skipped the novel-length type up of his so-called background story and found the username and password at the bottom, however, one good look at it made his right eye twitch from another rouse of annoyance.

**Username: Pole-dancing Lover  
Password: Roxas-is-gay **

Irritated, Roxas practically jabbed the information onto the keyboard. As he punched the 'enter' key, the screen went white and the symbol of the Order appeared at the centre. It wasn't long before he heard a voice speaking from the other end:

"_Hey, there Pole-dancing Lover," _said a snickering voice._ "Or should I say Mr. Playboy-rich-guy with an insatiable thirst of parties and hot chicks?" _

Roxas immediately recognized it to be Xigbar's voice. The bastard.

He fumbled to put his headphones on. "Yeah, a certain _dumbass _I know definitely has no imagination," he snarled into the little speaker.

"_Hey, the user-name and password were all Demyx's idea, I just helped out with your background story,"_ Xigbar replied.

"Whatever. You're still an asshole," Roxas snapped. "You and your asshole friends."

"_Tut. Tut. That's no way to speak to your elders. You better shape up your language, young man,"_ said Xigbar, with mock disapproval. _"Princess's don't dig potty-mouth, hotheaded brats."_

Roxas ignored this. "Anyway, I don't want to talk to _you_. Where's Axel, is he there? I want to speak with him."

"_No can do, kid, he's off doing his own mission right now,"_ said Xigbar, unfazed. _"For now, you'll just have to put up with my pretty little voice." _

"No, thanks," said Roxas, rather rudely, "You're _pretty little_ voice is the last thing I want to hear before I go to bed. I think I'll call back later when—"

"_That's not a good idea,"_ said Xigbar in a tone as if he was talking to a three-year old. _"The Boss wants to know your status, pronto. And you know how he is when he doesn't get what he wants." _

Roxas bared his teeth but didn't press the issue. Instead he said, in a not so happy manner, "I'm here at Sector 09878865: Destiny Islands of Division 1267. As instructed I found a place to stay on the islands and have set up a database directly linked to the Headquarters' main computer systems."

"_And what of the girl,"_ said Xigbar, _"did you find her yet?"_

"No," said Roxas, shaking his head. "I didn't have time to locate her."

"_Well, get a move on then,"_ said Xigbar impatiently. _"You've got two weeks to bring her back to base." _

"Don't you think I know that?" Roxas hissed.

There was a blare of static from the other end and then finally Xigbar said, _"Just make it quick, will you? Have you at least read the reports on the girl yet?" _

"Yes," Roxas lied. "I'll begin my search tomorrow in the morning. I'll find her then."

"_You better,"_ said Xigbar menacingly. _"Make sure you file a report every night to keep us updated on your progress." _

"Aye, aye, captain," said Roxas sarcastically. "Now are we done yet or is there something else your pretty voice wants to tell me?"

More static. And then:

"_No, that's all for now. But remember, Roxas, find that girl pronto." _

"I _know_," said Roxas, who was growing impatient. He didn't need a bastard like Xigbar telling him what to do, especially regarding his own mission.

"_See to it that you do. Over and out." _

Roxas threw the headphones and fell back against the bed. It was going to be a long two weeks, he thought, and already he was growing weary of it. He had to report to HQ every freaking night. That was just as bad as seeing them every single day. And whoever this _Princess of Heart _was… well, she was sure more trouble than she was worth, that was for sure. Tiredly, he reached into the bag again and found the folder of her report. He flipped it open and once again sought out her picture.

She still looked very familiar… but Roxas knew for sure he hadn't met her in his life. He shook his head and started to read her file. In the documents, it said she wasn't born on the islands but from another world – a place called Hallow Bastion. He'd never been there before either, but something about the name of the place made Roxas feel as though he had. The documents also noted that she was 15 years old, her birthday was in April, and her blood type was of a rare blood nature: ABO and she was the adopted daughter of the town's Mayor. He also discovered she attended a private school called Alexandria Academy and she lived not too far from the beach shore.

Roxas yawned as he continued his reading, but his eyes were growing heavy and blurry from drowsiness. He rubbed at them and attempted to continue. However, he soon found that his focus and attention weren't on the same pace as it was previously and decided to retire to bed, perhaps just catch a few winks before he went back to reading. He closed the folder and cuddled up against the pillows. They were soft and smelt strangely like the sea. It was soothing.

"Just a little nap…" he murmured and then drifted off to sleep.

000

_She was standing there, staring at the door. _

_She didn't move until he called her name. She turned around, appearing daze and unlike herself. Her eyes were dull… the luster and radiance her blue eyes usually emitted were gone, and all that was left was nothingness; emptiness. But something was wrong. Something was very wrong. She was acting strange. _

_She murmured his name as if mechanical; just a voice… with no feeling and no expression… just emptiness like her eyes. She raised her arm to reach for him, but then the door behind her burst opened, sending a gust of black wind to whip out from the entrance. She fell away almost instantly, like she weighed absolutely nothing. _

_He stood his ground and stretched out his arms to catch her. However just as he nearly caught her in his grasp, she disappeared… she melded into him like a spirit going through his soul and fading instantly. She was gone. He could barely keep on his feet this time and the last of his strength gave out, and soon he was being shot out of the entrance of the cave… where a black towing shape nearly swallowed him…_

Roxas gasped awake, his eyes wide and bloodshot. He looked around him in a frantic, blind panic. Where was he? What happened? He had his hands held tight into fists as though ready to defend himself and attack whatever it is that was about to get him. But there was nothing. The room was still and there was not an utter of sound, except for his tired, labored breaths and quivering figure. And in a second, as if recognizing his surroundings, he calmed down again and fell back against the sheets, although reluctantly. He was gleaming and dripping in sweat and he was breathing heavily.

Outside he could see it was already nightfall and there was a distinct sound of the wind whapping by the glass of the window. Roxas took a deep breath and tried to quell is erratic state, but it wasn't easy – his hands just wouldn't stop shaking. And it didn't help now that the room was beginning to feel cold. He tucked the blankets more securely around himself before he attempted to close his eyes again.

That had been some dream… very tangible and almost real-like. But that wasn't what frightened him the most.

No… what _did _frighten him was the fact that he had experienced that same event some time before…

…and he had no idea how.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, again sorry for the long wait. But it's here! I realized the pace is somewhat slow, but hey, Roxas isn't going to fall head-over-heals with Kairi just yet and neither will she.

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention that this takes place sometime during CoM, but Roxas hadn't left the Organization and he isn't even remotely aware of Sora yet. This is obviously AU-based so don't start hunting me down for whatever inconsistency you might have caught. I'm just playing around with the possibilities.

Also, remember flames are not allowed but I will accept constructive criticism. Please send me your thoughts – feedback is always enjoyable.

Next chapter: Roxas meets Kairi. Finally. A peaceful meeting or World War III?


	3. Search

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

Author's note: I am sorry for not updating this for a long time. School and life are the only excuses I have for such a long absence. I'm hoping to spend more time on this fic though so stay tuned.

Thanks again for all the encouragements I got while I was away, they were highly appreciated. And kudos goes out to anyone who got the 'Mr. Nomura' insertion in the previous chapter :D

Alright, enjoy!

* * *

**Touch the Sky**

**Chapter Two: Search **

_She was falling again… _

_Falling… falling… and falling…_

_The dark abyss seemed endless and almost frightening. The shadows surrounding her were growing at large and the light cocooning itself around her form felt so miniscule and insignificant in comparison. _

_She felt lost. _

_She was… alone. _

_But someone was calling out her name… Somewhere in the darkness, someone hadn't forgotten her. It was soft and barely audible, but she heard it. She called back, her voice just as soft, and at once, as if encouraged the voice cried out even louder. There was a bubble of happiness, of relief and of hope building up inside her all at once and she couldn't contain her tears. _

_As though sensing this, the light surrounding her began to glow even fiercer and the gloom apart from her seemed smaller, and getting smaller still … and less intimidating. _

_She felt a familiar pair of arms wrapped themselves around her just as everything faded into white… _

_Sora… _

"Kairi, honey, get up. It's almost eight," said a soothing voice in her ear. A gentle hand touched her lightly on the back of her head, raking tender fingers through her thick, red hair. The hand went south to her back and started to nudge her awake again. "C'mon, sweetheart, you'll be late for your lessons if you don't hurry."

There was shuffle in the room and a soft click of the door as it shut close. And then silence. From outside, she could make out the sound of birds chirping and through her window the sun shone brilliantly through the curtains, the small breeze through the crack she'd opened last night billowing them slightly. In all honesty, she wanted to sleep in more, but the awareness of the time and the day made it now impossible to roll back into the covers and dose off again.

Kairi blinked one eye and then the other. Then very slowly, she pushed herself up to sit on her bed, legs crossed and hands going up immediately to rub at her tired-worn eyes. She was in a disheveled shape, as she always was in mornings; her hair was sticking up at the back, along with her bangs, which were twisted in the other direction than they were supposed to, and to that effect she'd never felt more groggy and disoriented getting out of bed as she did now.

What was more was the even stranger dream she had last night. She rubbed at her eyes again, more firmly this time to get rid of the sleepiness and the grime. She couldn't place it, but she felt a serious case of déjà vu come over her just then, as though she'd witnessed said dream some time before. Trouble was… she didn't have any inkling how.

She didn't think on it much further, because her mother was calling her down for breakfast. She slid out of bed, and immediately felt the rush of the cool, morning air hit her bare arms and legs. She grabbed for her sweater that hung against the chair by her desk, combed her hair back into a sloppy ponytail and then jogged the rest of the way down the steps.

As she skipped by the hall, she came across a red picture frame, decorated with blue and yellow stars, sitting on a long wooden table. There were many other picture frames that were assorted next to that one, but it was this particular photograph that had caught her eye – or rather it was the three persons standing in it that had called to her immediate attention.

She was one of them, sitting between the other two as the picture was taken. She was grinning from ear to ear, her hair held by a tiny clip that wasn't doing its job against the slight ferocity of the wind that day. But it still had been a beautiful day.

She was wearing a yellow sundress and she had her arms linked with either arm of her companions. On her right was a tall, silver-haired boy with a dark blue sleeveless shirt and black shorts; he had a smirk on his face and he was looking at the person on Kairi's right as if trying to provoke him. Kairi couldn't help but roll her eyes in amusement; Riku was _alway_s trying to rile him up. She missed the older boy fiercely.

The person on Kairi's left was another boy, her age, with dark brown hair that stood on ends and incredible blue eyes. He was wearing a white t-shirt and red shorts that looked too big and too long for someone of his height and stature to be wearing; he had a fairly large grin on his face that was both infectious and delightful. He was leaning in close to Kairi, his free hand posing a peace sign, while his other hand, which was linked with hers, hung itself casually at the side of her waist. She remembered his touch and how it'd seemed to magnify electricity throughout her entire being with just a slight brush if it. Any non-suspecting passerby who looked at this picture would only see a brown-haired, smiling young boy looking directly at the camera.

However, for someone like Kairi, someone who knew this boy better than anyone, someone who looked at this particular photograph every single day at every waking minute, knew better that this boy wasn't looking at the camera, wasn't sending that large, contagious smile at the camera's way at all.

No. He was looking at _her_. Kairi. And now that she thought about it, he had always looked at her in that way; that happy sort of manner that was mingled with a love that seemed too big for one simple photograph to contain. It was the same kind of love she felt for him when she looked at him in return. Only he couldn't see it like she can.

Not where he was. Wherever he was.

She wondered if he often thought about her as she did about him. Their connection was strong, and it burned fiercely and so intensely within her heart that she knew at once that such a bond between them could not easily be forgotten or intercepted.

Kairi only wished there was more she could do for him. For now, all she could manage was to be strong and just wait for him to come back, like he promised. She simply hoped that the love she felt from him he could feel from her, no matter how many miles or worlds away he was from her.

To her dismay, it didn't lift the impending weight off her chest one bit. She thought knowing this comforting detail about Sora would make her feel, perhaps a little better, but instead she felt worse. It just made her feel more inadequate than ever, knowing he was out there and she was stuck here… unable to help.

_Sora… _

"Kairi, are you up yet? Your plate is getting cold, honey," her mother called.

"I'm up, mom," said Kairi from the hallway, her eyes still staring at the picture. At both of the boys she missed tremendously. "I'll be there in a sec."

As she placed the picture frame back down onto the table, she had a brief moment to feel sorry for herself. She was here on Destiny Islands… safe and doing nothing, while her two best friends were off saving the world, facing unknown danger and who-knows what other monstrosity that was out there aside from the Heartless. She felt useless and powerless.

_No… Sora and Riku wouldn't want me to be feeling like this_, she thought, shaking her head. _I need to be strong. Not just for my sake, but for theirs_.

It was the only thing she could do for them in her current state, she suppose. At least for now.

She nodded firmly with renewed assertion and conviction before walking into the kitchen.

She couldn't give up.

She couldn't afford to give up.

000

Roxas awoke with a start, nearly falling off the bed as he did, and then was rapidly greeted by a ghastly headache.

"Fuck," he grumbled, his hand instantly going up to rub his temples. He moved around the covers and blindly reached over for something in the drawers. When he couldn't find what he was looking for, he was quick to conjure up another series of expletives.

"Looking for this?" said a crafty voice.

Roxas fell off the bed this time with a loud 'thud.'

"Oops," said the visitor, who didn't sound nearly as apologetic as he should have.

"Fuck…" Roxas said again from the floor.

Apparently knocking your head on hard wood and then shouting was not a good combination to go along with a headache either. The shock alone was enough to give him permanent brain damage, he was sure.

As he got up, however, it took him awhile to register the sight of Axel, sitting on the chair beside his bed with his hands crossed over his lap and looking every bit as prime evil as any jackass would at eight in the morning, was not a mere hallucination from his harsh landing. He wished it were so though. That way he wouldn't feel the need to strangle his red-haired friend.

"God, and here I was hoping you were a nightmare. It's way too early for this, Axel, seriously," he muttered, rubbing his forehead. He took note that Axel was dangling the bottle of aspirin in his hand. He snapped his fingers promptly. "Just give me the damn pills and go away. Then I'll think about sparing your life."

"Aw, that's no way to treat your best pal, now is it?" said Axel, in mock hurt.

The smile said otherwise and it continued to test the limits of Roxas's patience, which wasn't much to begin with. A headache and Axel in the morning was not how he wanted to start off his day.

"Considering I'm the one who practically took the time off their own busy schedule to come see how you're doing!" Axel went on, smiling broadly.

"How thoughtful of you," said Roxas, flatly. "No, really, Axel, what the hell are you doing here this time? Surely not to drive me insane again."

"Fine," said Axel, dismissively, "since you put it that way. The Boss-man sent me."

"Again?" Roxas said, pausing in disbelief. "What for? I just updated Xigbar the other night!"

Axel shrugged. "He just wanted to make sure you weren't… lying around doing nothing," he said, and his eyes went over to the bed and then at Roxas's disheveled state, as if that confirmed everything.

Roxas scowled. "What does he think I am? A machine? I need my _beauty _sleep too, you know?" he said sarcastically. "And I'm not doing this goddamn mission just for his sake; I'm doing it for mine. So when I finally do hand him the Princess he can shove that foot long light-saber up his ass and leave me the hell alone."

"You know the Boss is a hard bug to get rid of that easily," said Axel, who was evidently enjoying Roxas's heated outbursts. "But I'll let you off the hook… this time. I'll tell the Boss-man right now that you've located the Princess."

"Right, right, thanks," Roxas muttered, still aggravated that even many miles away from Headquarters the other members still found some way to drive him up the wall. It was infuriating.

_God, my head hurts_, he thought sourly, rubbing the bridge of his nose. And the day had barely started…

"Okay. Axel, the pills – any day now, please." He snapped his fingers again.

"Right, sorry about that, buddy," said Axel, grinning from ear to ear, and tossing him the small container.

Roxas dumped several pills into his hands before shoving them into his mouth.

Axel eyed him wearily. "Aren't you taking a bit too much there?" he asked slowly.

"Please. With the way things have been going these past ten minutes, there clearly isn't enough in here," was Roxas's dry reply. He moved into the bathroom, where he took a glass cup, filled it with water and then drank it straight down.

When he went back into the room, he saw Axel peering over the stack of DVD collection that he had thrown aside the previous night. Seeing them again brought horrible memories.

"I see you've already gone through my stash of homemade movies, huh?" said Axel with some display of amusement. He flicked through several movies and then held a couple over his shoulder. "Did you these two yet? They're brilliant. Although," he went on, tapping his chin thoughtfully, "I was a little skeptical of the title at first – 'Babes in Paradise'… I mean what good for nothing person names a movie _Babes in Paradise? _A bit corny, don't you think? I thought so at least. But then after watching a few episodes, I realized the director was an absolute genius."

Irked, Roxas replied with obvious distaste, "Well, you can take those back. I don't want any of them."

Axel gasped in shock and dropped the DVDs he was holding. He whirled around and faced Roxas with such an expression of absolute horror that it was hard to tell this time whether or not he was simply exaggerating again or was truly offended.

"B-But, Roxas… my… you… homemade movies!" he sputtered pathetically, brandishing several DVDs in his hands for emphasis. "And after I took the liberty and the time to actually assemble these for you? You'd just turn them away? Oh, my aching heart!"

Roxas clenched his teeth. "You don't have one."

"Ah, good point," said Axel cheerfully, ending his dramatics. "I thought I'd try a bit of Shakespeare."

Roxas stared back at him blankly.

"What?" said Axel, still somewhat confused. "The man has quite the influential choice of vocabulary."

Roxas shook his head. "Axel, I don't think Shakespeare would appreciate you butchering his idea of good theatrics," he said pointedly.

The redhead shrugged, unfazed by this. "Well, it _was _a bit too fancy for my liking anyway," he said casually. He moved over to the bed again and grabbed the folder, which was lying precariously across the edge of the mattress. "You've read through this yet?" he asked, flipping through several pages.

"Not thoroughly," said Roxas, who went to his duffle bag for some fresh clothes. "But I got the main gist of it."

Axel nodded. "Alright," he said. "So you do know that the Princess should be going to school at this time, right?"

Roxas hesitated. "Uh… no, not exactly." At his friend's raised brow, he elaborated, somewhat defensive, "I only knew she was attending Alexandria Academy. I had no idea she was still going to school." He shrugged, going back to his duffle bag. "I figured she was off on summer vacation already."

"Well, if you read any further than the first page you'd have known she was going to school to volunteer," said Axel, who, for the first time, looked disapproving and serious. "Roxas, you've got to get your head straight. This isn't a game, you know?"

The blonde scowled. "I know that," he said, stung. "I was just so fucking tired is all—"

"And what did we say about that mouth of yours?" Axel said, sternly.

"Sorry, _mom_," grumbled Roxas sarcastically. "Shall I go to the corner for a time out?"

"Don't be an ass," said Axel, rather sharply. "You think I'm only telling you this for my benefit? I'm only doing this—"

"I know, I know," Roxas murmured, and felt his shoulders sag in defeat, "You're only doing this to help me."

"…And that means I'm laying my ass on the line for you," said Axel, scowling.

"I know… I'm sorry," he replied, coming to stare out the window, where he could see the view of the ocean. "I'm sorry," he said again, much more quietly that his voice was barely audible. However, he had meant it.

Axel exhaled a sigh and came to stand beside him. "What's with you, seriously?" he asked, staring at him. "I know you're usually grumpy in the mornings, but to be like this?" He waved around in gesture to what just happened a few seconds ago. "That's not like you, man."

Roxas ducked his head low. "I don't know…" he mumbled. "It's just… this place. Everything here… I don't know what it is, but there's something about this island … it's doing strange things to me."

The redhead frowned. "Strange things?"

"Yeah…" he said. "Like I can't shake off the feeling like I've been here before. I feel like I've been here my whole life but I know don't know why, seeing as how this is the first time I've ever been to Destiny islands. And the Princess…" he thought back to her heart-shape face and red, glossy hair and her blue, blue eyes… "I feel like I know her from somewhere, but I've never… I don't think I've ever met her before. I don't know…" he shook his head in frustration. "But last night… I had this bizarre dream—"

"Dream?" said Axel, his frown deepening considerably, "What kind of dream?"

"A dream about … a girl," Roxas murmured, his tone soft and somewhat tinged with longing. "She was falling… and I wanted to catch her… but she disappeared… almost like a ghost…" he trailed off as he placed a hand over his chest, where he remembered the feel of her passing right through him. He refrained himself from shivering out loud.

"Who was she?" said Axel intriguingly.

The blonde shook his head. "I don't know," he said quietly. "But… she felt familiar… like I knew her somehow."

Axel was in deep thought for sometime, before he said, with a sly, knowing look, "So, was she pretty?"

"What?" Roxas wasn't sure he heard him right.

"You wanted to catch her right?" Axel prodded, his smile widening. "What else did you wanted to do to her?"

Roxas promptly slapped his forehead. Oh, but of course. He should have figured Axel would take his words the wrong way. And if those DVDs weren't any implication that his friend was a walking porn machine, he didn't know what would.

"Never mind," he groaned and pushed himself off the ledge. He went back to his duffle bag and grabbed some fresh clothes.

"What?" said Axel, calling after him. "I was just curious."

"Yeah? Well, you suck," said Roxas surly. That was it. This was definitely going to be the last time he was ever going to tell Axel anything personal like that again. He was only going to end up feeling like an idiot. "Well, if you have nothing else better to do, then do me a favor and go away."

"Alright, alright," said Axel with a roll of his eye as he pushed himself off the ledge. "I'll go. Just don't forget to give your report tonight."

Roxas nodded. "Okay," he said. "Later then."

There was a moment of silence to which Roxas had thought Axel had already left, but as he turned back around Axel was still in the room, watching him with a look of contemplation… or was it worry? Roxas frowned, not at all used to seeing such a serious expression on Axel's face.

"What?"

The redhead shook his head. "Nothing," he said and turned the other way before Roxas could say any more. A black portal appeared on the wall before him. "See ya, partner," he called, waving at Roxas before disappearing altogether into the darkness.

"Yeah. See you," said Roxas, a tad confused. _That was a little strange_, he thought.

Now that he thought about it some more, Axel was acting slightly weirder than usual, even for him. Maybe hanging out with Marluxia and Larxene was finally driving the redhead up the crazy wall.

Roxas couldn't help but feel some retribution to this. He'd been picked on non-stop since he'd gotten here; it was high time someone else got a taste of their own medicine. He allowed himself to smirk, hoping Marluxia, Larxene and Axel all went crazy in being in each other's company.

He didn't dwell on this for too long, however. He went straight into the bathroom to take a shower.

He had more troublesome things to deal with later after all.

000

Kairi was late. When she finally reached the classroom, the boy she was assigned to help tutor was already in there waiting for her.

"I'm sorry I'm late!" she said, bursting into the room. Her face was flushed from the running she'd did.

The boy turned around and smiled. "It's okay, Kairi," he said, "it's no big deal. I didn't wait very long."

He was ten-years-old with soft brown hair and clear blue eyes; he was very sweet and patient for someone who was spending a part of their summer in school. He also had a very welcoming smile, one that reminded Kairi vaguely of a younger version of Sora. Although, knowing Sora he'd be too restless to sit in a room for an hour and a half just to study; his attention would have wandered endlessly.

But Kairi didn't want to think of Sora. Thinking of Sora made Kairi's heart soar and sink at the same time. She missed him terribly even when she had finally convinced herself she wasn't going to let his absence depress her anymore. They had made a promise to be together when he came back – that was enough to keep her going. She only had to endure. She could do that, she thought, even though it was very easy to lapse back into hopelessness.

"Kairi?"

She blinked out of her reverie, remembering she wasn't alone.

"Are you alright?" said the boy, staring at her with worry.

Kairi managed a small smile on her face. "I'm fine, Denzel," she said. He still looked slightly unconvinced. She patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. "Don't worry, okay? I'm just concerned I won't be up to par with my mathematics today. Algebra is kind of a foggy memory on my part."

Denzel shook his head. "But you're a great teacher, Kairi," he said, and from his tone Kairi knew he was being sincere. He was truly a sweet kid; it made Kairi's tiny smile bloom into a wide one. "Aw thanks, Denz. That was nice of you to say."

The boy blushed up a storm and turned to take the books out from his bag to avoid further embarrassment.

Kairi took out her own notebook and pen from her bag. Denzel's face was still a bit pink when he turned to face her again. She simply smiled.

"Shall we get started then?"

000

Roxas had found the school with ease.

Along with the other documents in the folder, there had been information regarding the school and its whereabouts. After dressing up in a casual white shirt and jeans, Roxas quickly shoved the communicator, the cell phone that had been given to him, along with the Princess's photo, into his pocket for good measure before rushing out of the house.

The weather was considerably tolerable today; the heat wasn't nearly as intense or as dry. It was the perfect balance of sun and cool breeze; it felt wonderful to be walking around, unlike the previous day, where he could barely take two steps without sweating up his own pond.

As he walked along the side of the beach, he took the time to stare out at the ocean. He had never seen nor been near the ocean before; it was quite riveting. The vast blueness of it was breathtaking; it just seemed like it could go on forever.

And again, for whatever reason, he was overcome by this inexplicable feeling of familiarity. He felt right at home with the sand and the sea, the salty breeze and the warm rays of sunshine against his skin. He just couldn't quite fathom why. How was it that he could feel so at peace, so content, in a place he barely even knew about, let alone been to before?

Roxas just couldn't understand, and thinking too much about it only worsened his confusion.

Maybe he was reading too much into this, he thought finally. Maybe the heat was doing funny things to his head. Or maybe it was his intense dislike for this mission altogether that was making him so paranoid lately – he _had_ been an endless body of nerves since the moment he'd gotten here, perhaps it was just his frustration clouding his judgment. It certainly didn't help that the other members were making it even harder for him to wind down a bit.

That had to be it, he thought with some certainty. It was the only explanation that made sense.

He put an end to his aimless thoughts as he slowly approached the school gates.

There was a grass laneway with grass sculptures lined up on opposite sides of each other. In the middle of the runway was a fountain, made of white marble and adorned with gold trimmings. Passed that was the school itself; a wide, pale yellow structure, with black window panes and matching obsidian doors. The name of the school 'Alexandria Academy' was melded in glossy, thick cursive letters across the top of the main entrance.

Roxas whistled his approval. So this is where the Princess was studying, he thought. He supposed it made sense. He couldn't imagine royalty receiving education from anything less sophisticated. He pushed the gates open and strolled down the pathway until he was at the bottom of a short flight of stairs leading straight into the entrance hall.

Once inside, he automatically spotted the office up ahead. A woman was seated at the front desk. He supposed she was the secretary or whatever.

The woman looked up as he approached the desk. She gave him a friendly smile. He caught sight of her name on a silver plaque just on the edge of her desk: _Milly_… and a last name he didn't think was possible for anyone to pronounce. "Hello there, how may I help you?"

Roxas shuffled in his place. "Uh hi," he said, somewhat awkward, "um… I'm kind of looking for someone right now. A girl. Her name's Princ—Kairi," he amended quickly, remembering that these people were not aware that this girl was a Princess of Heart. "I heard she was tutoring here."

The woman's brow scrunched a bit. "And you are?"

"Fujioma Takeru," he said. It was getting easier telling people this was his name even though it still felt weird rolling it off the edge of his tongue.

"And what business do you have with Kairi, Mr. Fujioma?" she asked, this time seeking a file from one of the drawers. She pulled out a thin brown folder; Roxas briefly caught the Princess's picture. "Are you here to be tutored too? Are you a student?"

He took a moment to consider whether or not he should lie, but decided against it. "Uh no," he said with a shake of his head. "I'm just an old friend of hers."

"Well, Mr. Fujioma," said the secretary, shuffling the folder back into the drawer, "I'm afraid visitations from non-students are restricted till after three."

Roxas glanced quickly at the clock. It was only 11:00. Shit.

"Aw c'mon," he tried to wheedle. He gave her a charming smile Axel would be proud of. "Just this once? It's not like I'll tell anyone you let me through," he said, leaning in as if conspiring a secret.

The woman simply smiled. "Sorry, Mr. Fujioma, but it's school protocol."

Roxas's smile faltered as he tried to suppress his growing annoyance. "Look," he said, his voice low and forced with patience, "Kairi has been expecting me all week. I told her I'd come as soon as I got here. She's been waiting forever for me, the least you could do is grant a sweet girl her wish." He gave her an expectant look, as though daring this woman to do otherwise.

The woman's smile didn't waver at all, much to Roxas's disappointment. "Well, if Kairi's been waiting forever for you, surely she could wait for another four hours, right?"

This time Roxas dropped the smile altogether. "Fine," he said, curtly. He didn't bother to say thank you as he stalked heatedly out of the office.

He was cursing up a storm by the time he'd made it to the foot of the entrance hall again; however, a sudden idea made him pause. He glanced back at Milly-whatshername, who, as luck would have it, had chosen that particular moment to turn her chair the other way around; she was nose deep, searching through a filing cabinet for something.

Roxas felt his lips curl upward in triumph. _Sweet_, he thought. He spared the woman another fleeting glance before dashing past the office and into the central part of the building.

000

He found the Princess where he knew he'd find her: in a small classroom on the very end of the hall of the second floor. And as usual, she was still tutoring her ten o'clock schedule.

He took out the picture from his pocket for confirmation. The girl sitting in the room was definitely the one; pale, rosy cheeks; short, red hair and blue eyes. He could only catch her profile, but he was more than positive it was her. She was wearing a purple shirt with a faded grey skirt and white belt; adorned on her left wrist was an assortment of bracelets, and around her neck was the same silver chain she'd worn in the picture.

Watching her made things surreal for Roxas; a picture was not nearly as real-like as seeing her up close. It only made his mission that much more apparent to him and he began to feel doubtful. He had to bring her back to Headquarters in two weeks time, but could he possibly do it? Deceit and kidnapping were not his style, and watching the Princess, so unaware, only solidified his abhorrence to the idea of tricking her. But he would be a fucking hypocrite to say he'd never done anything as appalling as deception before since he'd joined the Order. He had done a lot of things he was not proud of.

He began to wonder how he was going to approach her. Should he do it right after her teaching session? Or maybe when she was alone? He certainly didn't want anybody else to be around when he'd approach her, it would only increase his awkwardness. Or would that be too forward? He wondered.

Roxas scratched the back of his head. He wasn't good at this. He'd never talked to a girl before, save for Larxene, and she was as easy to get along with as it was to grab a porcupine with your bare hands. He had zero experience with girls; he didn't know the first thing to say to them. As annoying as this was to admit, Roxas thought maybe he should have paid more attention to Axel and the others whenever they talked about women. Maybe then he wouldn't be so lost.

He sighted heavily and leaned his forehead against the wood of the door. He'd rather fight Heartless than do this; it was certainly a lot easier than thinking up ways on how to approach a girl. Not to mention, he was a complete stranger to her. How was he going to convince her to let him be around her without making it seem like he was some kind of creep?

He continued to watch her, hoping maybe an idea might arise somewhere. He learnt fairly quickly she was a very patient person. The boy she was tutoring was obviously fumbling a lot with whatever subject they were studying and kept looking up at her in fear and embarrassment, but the Princess never got mad or scolded him. She was the perfect air of calmness and patience. When the boy made yet another mistake, she simply smiled, pointed out his error and show him the correct way on doing it.

It was unbelievable. If it were Roxas, he'd have gotten fed up already. Then again, the people he usually had to teach were idiots.

The boy must have said something funny to her because she was laughing next. Her laugh sounded like bells, soft and pleasant to the ears. As she tilted her head back, Roxas found himself leaning closer and closer to the windowsill until the tip of nose was pressed against the glass. He suddenly was fascinated by this scene, by her; he was quite sure, had he been more aware otherwise (which he wasn't), he would not be have been able to tear his eyes away from her.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when the communicator in his pocket started vibrating and beeping. He ducked beneath the window lest the Princess suddenly overheard the noise and caught him there. It would definitely blow his cover. _I'm going to kill whoever is calling me_, he thought irately as he dug into his pocket for the device.

"What?" he growled, trying to keep his voice down. "This had better be good."

But the voice on the other end evidently didn't care for secrecy. _"Yo, Roxas, did you find the Princess yet?"_

It was Axel. Go figure.

Roxas pressed a hand over the receiver, hoping to drown out the static and the volume of Axel's voice. "What do you want?" he hissed, "I'm busy right now!"

Static. _"The Boss-man wanted to know the moment you found the Princess."_

The blonde didn't know whose neck he wanted to strangle first: Axel's or Xemnas's.

"Well, tell that annoying son-of-a-bitch, I found her already," he said, seething. "Can't he just leave me alone already? I'm sick and tired of—"

"_You found her? Where is she?"_ Axel cut in, the degree of loudness his voice was exuding was enough wake up the dead. It made Roxas want to bop him on the head.

He was sourly tempted to just hang up right now. "She's in class. Tutoring," he gritted out, as if this was obvious.

"_And?"_ Axel prompted.

"And what?" said Roxas, still annoyed.

"_Have you talked with her yet? What? Details, c'mon!"_

"I haven't talked to her yet," said Roxas, seeing the Princess turn her head towards the door, a frown on her face. Deciding it'd be best if he took this conversation outside, Roxas quickly slipped into an empty classroom down the hall, before unleashing his irritation, "What the hell, Axel! You're going to get me caught!"

"_I just want to know what happened, that's all!"_ said Axel defensively. And, as an afterthought, he added, _"And watch your language, young man. I thought we already talked about that."_

Roxas rolled his eyes, but decided on cooperating; most of his anger was already dispersing as he remembered this morning's conversation. "Well, nothing happened yet," he muttered.

"_What do you mean 'nothing happened yet'? Get a move on already!"_

"I was just about to before you decided to give me a call," replied Roxas tersely, knowing full well that was a lie. He'd have been stuck there all morning, mourning on the most effortless strategy on how to speak to the Princess if Axel hadn't called to check up on him, but there was no way in hell he was going to admit _that_.

"_So how __**are**__ you going to approach her then? What's your game plan?" _There was just too much excitement in Axel's voice for it to be legal.

"I'm… still thinking about how to do that," said Roxas, hesitating. When static was the only response he got, he said in a petulant tone, "Hey, I've never done this before, okay? Cut me a break!"

There was the sound of a scoff on the other end. _"What's there to think about? Just use your background story as a cover! How hard can that be?"_ said Axel.

Suddenly the descriptive details of his so called cover story flooded his mind and he instantly wanted nothing more than just to forget about it again. It was annoying knowing the others had only written that out for him just so they could make fun of him, but now he had to actually act it out? They had to know there was just no way he could act the part of an expert womanizer when he could barely handle saying hello to just one girl.

Or maybe that's exactly why they wrote it, he thought, mentally hitting himself.

"I can't use that," Roxas gritted into the mouthpiece finally.

"_What? Why not?"_

"Because it's stupid," he mumbled, knowing he sounded like a baby throwing a temper-tantrum.

An aggravated sigh. _"Now's not the time to be picky, Roxas,"_ Axel growled. _"Just casually approach her, say hi and ask if she'd like to catch lunch with you or something. And if she says no, just keep asking her until she says yes, okay?"_

"Easy for you to say," said Roxas, scowling, "being relentlessly annoying is just something you're good at."

Axel chuckled. _"Well, seeing as how you know me so well, it shouldn't be that hard to put some of my expertise into good use."_

Roxas groaned. "Shouldn't you be focusing on your own mission, Axel?" he asked wearily, rubbing his nose. "If you wanted my mission that badly, you should have used some of that persistence on the Boss."

"_My mission is going swell,"_ said Axel, his voice neutral. _"Marluxia and Larxene are the ones doing all the work. That gives me plenty of time to check how things are going on your end."_

"Really, you shouldn't have," he replied monotonously. "No really, Axel, you shouldn't have." Then, curiously he asked, "So what _is_ your mission anyway. You never mentioned it to me."

The static on the other went on for so long that Roxas almost thought Axel had been disconnected. But then he heard a rough sigh on the other end.

"_Nothing exciting. Just to observe and report." _

"Observe and Report what?"

"_To what end this game of charade will last,"_ said Axel softly before laughing. Roxas didn't see what was so funny. _"Never mind. Like I said, it's nothing exciting." _

Roxas was confused; Axel… was acting strange again. "Has Marluxia and Larxene made you lose a few light bulbs in the head there?" he asked, tapping his temple although he knew Axel couldn't see him do it.

The redhead just laughed. _"No. Strangely enough, they are both keeping me __**highly**__ entertained."_

Roxas decided he didn't want to know what kind of entertainment that entailed. "Well, whatever. I've got to go," he muttered, remembering the Princess. "And don't call me anymore, okay? You're only going to get me in trouble."

"_I'll keep that in mind,"_ said Axel, cheerfully. _"But I expect all the juicy details tonight!" _

"I know, I know. I have to give my report remember?" said Roxas, inwardly cringing. He wasn't looking forward to that, not at all; that was just as bad as conjuring casual methods to approach the Princess. He could just see them all laughing at him now. "Well," he muttered, "later then, Axel."

"_Later, buddy,"_ he said and the line went dead.

Roxas slipped the communicator back into his pocket, mauling over everything Axel had told him.

"_Just casually approach her, say hi and ask if she'd like to catch lunch with you or something." _

He wanted to rip out his hair. He was so screwed. _Okay_, he thought, trying to derail himself from thinking any more negative thoughts, _just say hi… and… a-ask her out for lunch. Right. I can do that. How hard can that be, right? _

But as he walked back towards the classroom and peered through the window again, he saw that nobody was inside anymore.

He looked up at the clock on the other end of the room and nearly keeled over. 11:40. Class time was over.

"Shit," he muttered, before dashing off in search of her again.

000

"You did really well today, Denzel," Kairi commented as they reached the gates of the school.

The boy looked up her reluctantly, an expression like that of a wounded puppy. She was sure he was still brooding about earlier.

"Really?" he asked, not quite believing her. He looked back down again. "You're just saying that. I did horrible. I kept making so many mistakes."

"I'm not just saying that, you really did great, Denzel, honestly," said Kairi, smiling as he looked at her again. "As for the mistakes, you learnt from them, didn't you?"

Denzel nodded.

"Well, then that's all that matters," she said. "Making mistakes is natural. I make them all the time—"

"You?" said Denzel, in astonishment. "But you're so good!"

She shook her head "I made a ton of mistakes just to get where I am now, and I'm still learning," she said, a little wistfully. "Mistakes are good because they are what help you get better, they are there for us to learn from so that we may try harder next time."

She gave his shoulder an affectionate squeeze as his smile broadened. "Thanks, Kairi."

"No problem."

"Hey, Kairi, over here!" called a voice.

Turning around, she spotted Selphie and Rinoa waving at her from across the lot. She waved back.

"We're heading to the ice cream shop down on Lake Front," said Rinoa once they've approached. "Tidus is throwing a party there."

"Another party?" said Kairi, bewildered. It was just last week he and Wakka had thrown a beach party.

"You know Tidus," said Selphie, with a roll of her eyes. "There's always something else to celebrate, and this time it's for coming in first place at the Blitz Ball Tournament this year."

"They've been bragging about it nonstop since it happened," said Rinoa, a tad amused.

"Yeah, and we're just hoping that after this party it'll be the end of that," said Selphie, her brows scrunched in mild irritation.

Kairi couldn't help but laugh.

"You're coming, right?" asked Selphie finally.

"I don't know," said Kairi with a side-ways glance at Denzel, who was keeping himself occupied by staring at his shoes. She could tell he was bored. "I think I'll go back home and crash. I'm pretty bea—"

"What?" said Selphie, staring at her as though she'd just spoken blasphemy, "You mean you're choosing sleep over an afternoon of fun?"

"Uhh…" Well, Kairi wouldn't exactly word it like _that_.

"I mean, first you volunteer to tutor during the summer when everybody's been dying for school to end. I mean, honestly, who in their right minds does that?"

When Kairi opened her mouth to say something, Selphie simply held up a finger to silence her; there was a look on her face that meant she was just getting started. Kairi had been dreading that look.

"Here we go," she heard Rinoa sigh.

"And then you bail on every party that's been happening since summer started. You hardly go shopping with me or Rinoa anymore. Heck, even Tidus and Wakka think you've been avoiding them. And let's not forget the fact that you've stopped going to the other island—"

"Okay, okay," Kairi cut in, not really in the mood to explain her sudden avoidance to go to the other island. Not that she didn't want to go; it was just… whenever she'd go there she'd always find herself walking into the Secret Place, whether it was intentional or her feet would just subconsciously take her there. She'd spend hours staring at that one particular drawing on the wall and get lost in a sear of bittersweet memories. "So I may have been a _little_ anti-social lately—"

"A little?" said Selphie, skeptically.

"Selphie," said Rinoa in disapproval.

Kairi shot Selphie a pointed look. "Okay, so maybe a lot," she mumbled, biting the insides of her mouth as she thought this over.

She hadn't realized she'd been this out of touch with everybody. She just hadn't been in the right frame of mind for social gatherings that was all, not that she'd been avoiding anybody on purpose.

Did people really think she'd been shunning them out of her life deliberately? She felt guilt spread through her then.

"Oh, alright, I'll come," she relented.

Selphie brightened considerably at this and clapped her hands together in excitement. "Great, knew you'd come around eventually," she said.

"Or maybe it's because you bullied her enough that she _had_ to give in," said Rinoa, rolling her eyes.

"It's not bullying," said Selphie, slightly insulted. "I'd rather like to call it 'making her see the light'."

"In short it's called bullying," said Rinoa with amused dark eyes.

Kairi smiled weakly while her two friends bickered before turning back to Denzel, whom she was surprised hadn't left yet. "Do you want to come along too, Denzel?" she asked.

"Nah, it's okay. Besides, Marlene would get jealous if she knew I'd gone out for ice cream and she didn't," he said, snickering.

"Aren't you a thoughtful big brother," said Kairi, laughing. "Anyways, I'll see you again tomorrow, okay?"

Denzel nodded as he hoisted his bag firmly over his shoulders. "Okay," he said and waved. "See you tomorrow, Kairi!"

Kairi watched him bound the corner before turning back to Rinoa and Selphie.

She took a deep breath. "Well, shall we?" she said, successfully managing a smile.

000

Roxas was not having much luck on his search. To top it off, he was quite sure he was lost. After sprinting out of the school gates, he blindly ran in all sorts of different directions with the hopes that by doing so he'd run into her. Well, he hadn't. Meanwhile, he was getting even more lost, zigzagging down block after block.

How hard could it be to find just one girl? He thought as he came to a crossroads. From where he was, he could see the beach just a few miles away. At least he wasn't completely misguided anymore; he could probably make it back to the school from here, but by then the Princess could be anywhere.

Would she have gone home? He wondered, glancing at the time on his communicator. It blinked _12:30_ in small green lights, making him doubt that she'd choose to end such a fine, sunny day so short and on account of wanting to stay home. That rules out stopping by her place, he grumbled inwardly.

She must have other plans, he assumed as he re-routed his direction east towards town. It was summer after all. He considered the likeliness of her going shopping – he had passed the marketplace a few times upon his search.

_I should have given her profile a better read_, he thought, sullenly, while he rubbed the bridge of his nose. At this rate he would not have a report to hand in tonight. No doubt he'd have hell to pay, and all because he could not keep track of one, simple person. He was getting a headache just thinking about it.

That was when he spotted that boy from the school, the one the Princess was tutoring. He was walking down the other corner. Roxas felt his insides jump.

"Hey, you! Wait! Hey you, kid!" he called, dashing to run after him. He caught the boy by the shoulder. "Hey, you… uhh, oh," he realized how this must have looked to the kid: a tall stranger grabbing him and then blurting out nonsense… that would give the boy license to assume Roxas was some kind of creep. He quickly dropped his hand to his side. "Sorry about that," he muttered, "but I'm looking for Pri—Kairi. S-She's a friend of mine and I can't seem to get a hold of her. Do you mind telling me where I can find her – Please?" he added for good measure.

The boy relaxed a little, but he was still looking at Roxas with something akin to suspicion.

"I haven't seen you around before," he said, eyeing Roxas up and down. "Who are you?"

"Fujioma Takeru," Roxas said automatically, a little startled that a kid could talk so boldly to someone he'd never met before. "I'm not from here. Like I said, I'm an old friend of hers." The boy continued to look at him as though he was someone from "Most Wanted" which was only ticking away at Roxas's last nerve. "I'm kind of in a rush, you know.

The boy finally gave in, albeit reluctantly. "She and her friends are going to the ice cream shop on Lake Front. That's in the outskirts of town," he added when Roxas looked confused. "It has a huge ice cream billboard so you shouldn't miss it."

"Alright, thanks," Roxas said and sped towards the direction of town.

000

True to the boy's words the ice cream shop had an ice-cream shaped billboard so huge that he would have to be blind to have passed it. It was rather packed inside and the music was cranked high.

He walked a bit closer until he could see the commotion through the windows. It looked like there was a party going on there; there were streamers and balloons everywhere; people were dancing to the music and chatting amongst themselves. His eyes automatically sought for a familiar shock of red hair. He spotted her instantly, sitting on one of the corner tables; she was smiling and listening as one of the other girls – a brown-haired girl with a yellow sundress – talked animatedly. There was another girl at their table – a dark-haired girl, but Roxas couldn't tell what she was doing; her back was turn to him.

Now that he'd found her and she was sitting just a few meters away, Roxas knew that this was the moment of truth, where he would actually have to approach her, initiate a conversation with her. He gulped down the feeling of apprehension from earlier.

"Right," said Roxas, as he tried to collect himself, "Just approach her and say hi. Right. Easy. I can do that."

"_Just use your background story as a cover! How hard can that be?"_

Anxiety flooded his senses and he pulled at his hair. "Ugh. I can't do this after all."

People were starting to give him weird looks.

"C'mon, Roxas," he muttered, looking away from them, "You can do this. You _need_ to do this. If you don't Xemnas and everybody else will be annoying you for the rest of your life."

It wasn't exactly encouraging.

He looked at the Princess again. She was laughing, her head tilted back with strands of hair falling past rosy cheeks and her neck at an arch; he vaguely remembered the sound of soft bells and how pleasant he thought they sounded to his ears.

He could do this, he thought, this time with affirmation.

Squaring his shoulders, he took a deliberate step inside.

000

Kairi was barely paying attention to what Selphie had been telling her. She nodded, smiled and laughed on cue, but otherwise her attention was elsewhere. She was poking at her half-melted ice cream with her spoon when Selphie nudged her with her elbow.

"That guy has been staring at you for the past ten minutes since he got here," she whispered in her ear.

"Wha—"she said, having only caught half of what Selphie was saying; when she was giddy about something, her words turned into another language altogether.

"That blond-haired guy at the corner," said Selphie, giggling, eyes staring off at a distance.

Kairi looked. Passed the dancing crowd of people, she spotted him across the room. He was wearing a white collared top, the buttons at the top loose and open, the sleeves cut off at his elbows; his jeans were dark and baggy, his boots black. His blond hair was at disarray, although, strangely enough, it looked natural on him, and he had pair of very deep, blue eyes.

Eyes that were watching her.

Selphie giggled again. "He's really, really good-looking," she said.

Kairi continued to stare back at him, suddenly transfixed. She had never seen him before, although for some odd reason… she couldn't quite put her finger on it… he seemed very, very familiar.

He finally stood up and, much to her surprise, began making his way over, lips formed into a small, even smile.

"He's really coming here," said Rinoa in awe.

Kairi just watched him, a whirlwind of thoughts flying in her head. _Who was this boy? Where did he come from? And why do I feel as though I… feel as though I…_ Their eyes met half-way for the second time.

The answer struck her hard like a ton of bricks.

This was why she suddenly felt like she knew him.

_His eyes…_ she thought, feeling her heart beat furiously.

She was shaking; her fingers, her hands, her arms, every thing was shaking. Her breathing became shallow and she could no longer discern from voice to sound, save for the vicious ringing in her ears. _His eyes…_ she thought again, as a wave of nausea and dizziness surrounded her and she began to see stars.

_They're blue… Just like… _

"Sora…" the word tumbled from her lips just as she lost balance.

"Kairi!—"

She felt a pair of arms go around her before her vision went completely black.

* * *

A/N: This chapter is officially 23 pages long. Phew.

I should technically be doing my assignment (which is due tomorrow) right now, but instead I worked on this. Bad Jini!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that. Look forward to chapter 3 in about two weeks. It's assignment and pre-exam time, so I'll be kind of busy for a little while.

Feedback would be most appreciated! :D


	4. Fate

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

Author's Notes: Thank you again to those who reviewed. School is finally over so now I can fully dedicate my attention to this fic. Sorry again for the long wait.

Well, enjoy!

* * *

**Touch the Sky**

**Chapter Three: Fate **

_When her eyes opened she thought she was staring at the sky, it was so blue. But it wasn't the sky at all, not really. _

_It was a boy. He had her propped against his chest, hands gently supporting her shoulders._

"_Steady now," he said at her ear when she wobbled. "You were out cold a while ago. Are you alright?" _

_She didn't answer right away as she finally took in her surroundings. She… was at the beach shore. How did she wind up here? To her dismay she could not draw a memory. Now that she thought of it, she could hardly remember a lot of things, least of all where she'd come from. They were all blurs and shapes of no actual recognition. _

_A hand to her face brought her immediately back to focus. She blinked back at the boy. _

"_Hey, are you sure you're okay?" he asked. She didn't know how to respond to that, she wasn't quite sure if she was even alright at all. She simply looked down at her lap. As if sensing her distress, he added reassuringly, "Don't worry though, my friend went to get help; he'll be back soon." _

_All she could do was nod. _

"_What happened, do you remember?" he asked gently. "Where did you come from?" _

_She looked at her settings again, at the sparkles in the sand, the movement of the water as it washed over the shore, before looking back at him. His blue eyes exhibited an uncommon presence of warmth that made her feel safe. She found she could trust this boy to keep her safe. _

"…_I don't know," she whispered, and despair hung to every word as it sunk in. "I don't remember anything…" _

000

When Kairi regained consciousness, she found herself in her room, tucked beneath soft sheets and clothes changed. Beside her a chair had been drawn, as though someone had been sitting next to her while she slept. She stared out at the window, which was slightly open; she noticed the sun was at high.

That's when it occurred to her that it was morning. Startled, she sat upright, ignoring the sudden rush of dizziness and nausea and looked about her, feeling completely lost. What time was it? She thought, panicked. What day was it? How long had she been asleep for? How did she get here?

She heard a click go off inside her head and she instantly remembered: the party, the boy at the corner… his blue eyes on her as he approached her… and then blackness; everything after that was just darkness.

What exactly happened? She wondered, pressing her face into her hands. She was confused. Had that all happened or had that been a dream? She couldn't remember. It had all happened so fast.

When the door to her room opened, she saw her parents standing outside; relief washing over their features at the sight of her awake.

"Oh, Kairi, we were so worried about you," her mother cried, coming quickly to hold her.

Her father came by her bed side; his face tired yet evidently happy. It was so rare of him to be at home at this time; he was usually quite busy from the mornings till all the way into the evenings that sometimes Kairi would go a few days without seeing him. But the fact that he was even here at all brought warmth to Kairi's heart.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently.

"I'm fine," she replied, then, looking at her mother, who was still holding her, she said, "Mom, honestly, I'm okay."

She reluctantly pulled away; however, she still kept one of Kairi's hands in her own, almost as if to reassure herself.

"I know, it's just… you were asleep for so long, I thought—"

"W-What do you mean I was asleep for so long?" Kairi said, alarmed. How much time did she lose exactly? "What happened? I want to know. And what's the time?" So much for trying to remain calm, she thought, mentally wincing, but the need for answers was just too overwhelming.

"It's eleven in the morning, dear," said her mother, soothingly, rubbing her hand.

"It's the tenth of July if you really want to get specific," said her father, chuckling, but ceased his hilarity altogether when he caught her mother's eye.

"You fainted at the party the other day, remember?" her mother went on, reaching over to push a strand of red hair behind Kairi's ear. "You gave us quite the scare when the manager at the ice cream shop told us you'd collapsed and were sent to the hospital."

Eleven in the morning? Kairi felt her heart sink. It was barely two when she'd gone to the party with Selphie and Rinoa and suddenly it was the next day?

"I was out… for that long?" said Kairi, aghast. Then she gasped when she realized something else, "Oh my God! It's eleven? I'm late! I have to get to school! Denzel—"

"We informed the school what happened," her father cut in before she could immediately fling herself out of bed. "They called his family to tell them you won't be in today."

Kairi nodded, relaxing a little. She was still jittery, but she forced herself to remain composed when she looked at her parents again. "So, then what happened?" she asked.

"The doctor told us that you were fine and that nothing was wrong," said her father and Kairi could hear the relief seeping into his words. "He blamed it on the heat waves the island has been getting these past two weeks, and probably fatigue as well—"he gave her a quick and weary look, "Don't think I don't know you've been sleeping late, Kairi."

"Kairi!" said her mother, disapprovingly. "Just because it's summer and you're on vacation it doesn't mean you're allowed stay up passed twelve."

It wasn't that she was sleeping late, Kairi thought to herself. It was just she was having a little trouble falling asleep every night, that was all. Apart from the weird dreams she'd been having, her concern for Sora was only growing stronger every moment he was away. Images of him getting hurt (or worse) would continually plague her mind and it was enough to keep her up half-way through the night. And it didn't help that she missed him. It was why she stayed up late so late almost every night, to occupy her thoughts with something other than worry and longing… just until she could finally fall asleep without any more difficulty.

Of course, she could not explain this to her parents and mumbled a forlorn, "I'm sorry" instead.

Her father's eyes softened. "Not to worry. You're not hurt at least. Just keep that in mind next time." Kairi nodded. "And I know you've rested enough and are probably ready to get off this bed—" his wife gave him another meaningful glance and he hasted to add, "—but just to be on the safe side your mother and I feel you should stay in bed some more."

I feel fine, she wanted to tell them, but judging by her mother's expression there wouldn't be any room for arguments.

She sighed. "Alright."

"You should probably also call Selphie and Rinoa later on," said her mother, her face lit with amusement now, "They've been so worried about you."

"Yeah, Selphie hasn't stopped calling ever since we brought you home from the hospital," her father snorted. "I think it would be a big relief for our phone bill if you called her up first."

Somehow Kairi was not surprised; her lips curved into a smile. "Yeah, that does sound like Selphie," she said.

"Are you hungry?" asked her mother as she stood up. "I left some food by your bed just in case." By the night stand there was a tray of buttered pieces of bread, cut slices of apple and a glass of water. "I didn't give you too much right away in case you got sick again, but please do eat something soon."

Kairi nodded. "Thanks, mom, don't worry I will," she said.

"Okay." Her mother leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "Get some rest, okay, sweetie?" she said before shuffling towards the door.

"If you need anything, just give us a shout, alright?" said her father, kissing the top of her head.

"Okay."

They gave her another glance from over their shoulders before closing the door behind them.

I am a little bit hungry; she admitted after a moment's pause and reached over for a slice of bread from the tray. She was much hungrier than she'd anticipated and within minutes had emptied the rest of the bread slices and had gulped the last of the water.

When she was finished, she was left again with nothing to do.

She supposed she should call Selphie, just to get it over with, although she briefly hesitated when she picked up the phone, her fingers poised at the starter numbers. Knowing how her friend would immediately react, there would hardly be any opportunity for Kairi to get a single word into the conversation. Selphie would go ballistic then wheedle and question and go on and on until either one of them had to go; Kairi was both amazed and amused as to how someone – or anyone for that matter – could keep up a one-sided exchange without thinking twice about it.

As she dialed the number, it only took less than two rings before the other line had been picked up and a flustered, groggy voice spoke through the mouthpiece:

"Hello?"

Kairi took a deep breath. "Uh, hey, Selphie, it's—"

"Kairi!" She was more alert now. "Oh my God, I've been so worried about you! Are you alright? What happened? Is everything okay? Are you in—"

"Selphie!" Kairi cut in before her friend went on a vocal rampage. "I'm _fine_. Relax. Everything is okay."

There was a sigh of relief on the other end. "Gods, Kairi, don't do that again, do you hear me?"

"I'll try not to," said Kairi, sheepishly. "I didn't mean to worry you guys."

"Tell me about it. You scared the living shit out of me when you just suddenly collapsed like that. Although I think Tidus freaked out the most," said Selphie, a tad amused. "He kept thinking you'd died or had gotten poisoned by the ice cream or some other ridiculous thing like that."

Kairi stifled her laugh with her hand. Poor Tidus. He never was very good at handling high-stressful situations.

"I guess it's a good thing that blond-guy caught you when you fell. You could have seriously hurt yourself," said Selphie.

"Wait, what?" said Kairi, startled. "_What_ blonde-guy?"

"That blonde-guy at the party, remember?" said Selphie, as though she could hardly believe Kairi could forget such an important detail, "The one who just couldn't take his eyes off you? Does that ring any bells?"

The fact that Selphie was suddenly all giggles again should have given off warning bells that Kairi should quickly cease this conversation altogether, however, she was in another world of her own.

Her heart had quickened, beating rapidly, because she _did _remember that boy and the way he'd been staring at her that entire time. It was as if she was the only person in that room, the only one in the world who truly mattered at that moment. She involuntarily shivered, remembering the look on his face as he approached her. She couldn't describe it nor how it made her feel.

Just when she thought she'd been hallucinating, felt inclined into believing he had merely been a figment of her imaginations… he turned out to be real. She hadn't been dreaming after all. She didn't know why she suddenly felt so _relieved_ to know that.

Then she remembered his eyes, so deep and blue… so much like _Sora's_ eyes that Kairi couldn't help but shiver again.

Selphie's dreamy sigh brought Kairi back to her senses. She could just imagine her friend rolling on her stomach, clutching the phone to her ear, a wistful smile on her face.

"He was so _cute_," she gushed. "Although, if it wasn't so obvious he was only interested in _you_, I'd have made a move on him already." There was a hint of envy in her tone.

Kairi rolled her eyes. "Selphie, you're being silly," she said, shaking her head. "He doesn't even know me."

She tried to squish down the incessant feeling in her gut, the one that kept making her think of Sora. Kairi did not want to see Sora in this blond-boy. They may have the same shade of colored eyes but that did not mean she had to suddenly believe he _was_ Sora. He wasn't.

She had never seen this boy before in her life. It was just one minor mishap that was all. She had been thinking about Sora and missing him, terribly, for months now, so of course it was only natural, only expected, that she'd suddenly project her image of Sora onto somebody else right? Especially when they looked so much alike as it was. It could have easily happened to anybody… right?

"Well, he sure didn't look at you like he didn't know you," said Selphie pointedly.

"What do you mean?" said Kairi, trying to mask her alarm with neutrality, but the incessant feeling in her gut only twisted and coiled faster at the agreement of Selphie's words.

"Kairi, seriously," said Selphie with a scoff. "Would someone who didn't know you go as far as to ride all the way to the hospital with you?"

"What?" said Kairi, blinking. "He… he came with me?"

"Yes! Oh I wished you could have seen it," said Selphie gushingly and Kairi knew she was in for the full, detailed account on what had happened.

Normally, she would have been a little apprehensive about that – Selphie could go on for hours – but as it were, she was curious too… perhaps a little too much.

"He was making his way over to our table and that's when you suddenly fainted – I've never seen anybody react so fast before! He caught you the moment you fell and carried you so you could lie down. He didn't leave your side until he made sure you were alright.

Everyone was freaking out, of course, but he took charge and ordered the manager to call the ambulance. And even when they got there, he still refused to leave you. He argued with the paramedics until they finally agreed to take him along." Selphie sighed again, like she was watching some romance movie and the leading man had just done something she thought was particularly romantic. "Of course, Rinoa, Tidus, Wakka and I just _had_ to make sure you were alright, so we went straight to the hospital, and you know what we saw?"

"What?" said Kairi, whose voice was only a whisper now.

"You were lying in bed and he was there in the chair right next to you, just watching you sleep," she said, and Kairi got the distinct feeling Selphie was grinning like a love-struck fool on the other end. "It was the sweetest thing ever. On any normal circumstance, anyone who did that would be immediately labeled as some kind of creep and then booted out of there, but not him. I don't know, it was different with him… the way he was looking at you, like he was afraid you weren't going to be alright or even wake up… he had the most adorable look on his face when he saw us – like he was hoping it would be the doctors or something," said Selphie with a little laugh, "I think his concern was really genuine. It was quite sweet actually.

"Then your parents came along with the doctor. Turns out you were probably suffering from fatigue and the heat and that it wasn't anything to be worried about. The look on that guy's face – yes, I was still watching him to see what his reaction would be and he looked so relieved to hear that. Apart from your parents, of course, but he was just so relieved about it. Then he finally decided to leave—"

"What? He left?" said Kairi, abruptly. "Just like that?"

"Yeah," said Selphie, thoughtfully, with some confusion of her own. "It was pretty strange. He didn't even offer us his name when he passed us or anything. He just looked at you, seemed to be satisfied that you were in good hands, and then left."

"Oh…" said Kairi, quietly, unable to say anymore. Selphie's words had imprinted the events into her head and the more she thought about them the more at a loss she was.

Just who exactly was this boy? From how Selphie had described him he didn't sound like a bad guy.

What she couldn't understand was why a complete stranger would go to such lengths to ensure her safety. Did he really know her? Selphie seemed to think so. Kairi bit her lip as she racked through her brain for anything she could remember of this boy, only to find she had nothing. She didn't know him, but that didn't mean he didn't know her… right?

She knew right away she had to find him, at least to thank him for his kindness if nothing else. He had done so much for her, even if they may not know each other after all; it was the least she could do, she thought firmly. And maybe if she saw him she could finally understand certain things about him, like why she suddenly felt as though she knew him.

Remembering him, remembering his eyes – blue eyes that made her think of Sora – it was only piling onto her confusion.

She wanted to meet him to straighten out her own confusion once and for all. She wanted to prove to herself that what she saw in his boy previously was simply a coincidence, an exaggeration. All these jumbled thoughts of him and Sora were only giving her a headache. At least this way, if she talked to him she would no longer be confused and she'd finally be able to discard her earlier sentiments as a momentary sign of weakness on her part, purely accidental and easily fixed.

"Hey, Kairi, are you still there?" echoed Selphie's voice through the phone.

"Oh, oh yeah, I'm still here," she stammered, remembering she wasn't alone.

"What's the matter?" said Selphie, sounding worried again. "Are you feeling sick? Are you going to faint again? If you are, you should hurry and call your—"

"I'm fine, Selphie," said Kairi, reassuringly. She was getting tired of telling people that. "I'm not sick and I'm not going to faint either."

"Then why were you so quiet?" she said.

"I was just wondering about …that boy," said Kairi carefully. "How come I've never seen him around before? Is he new, do you think?"

"Maybe. Or he could be a tourist," Selphie suggested, not really concerned by the small, petty details. "What does it matter anyway?"

"I…I want to meet him," she admitted softly, "But I don't know where to start looking."

"Maybe you'll run into him again," said Selphie, perhaps a little _too_ eagerly for Kairi's liking. "I mean you _did_ faint just when he was about to come talk to you."

Kairi shook her head. "But if _I _don't know where he is then how will he know where I am?"

"I don't know," said Selphie, not the least bit ruffled. "The funny thing about fate is: if you're really meant to meet a person your paths will find a way to cross each other no matter what."

Fate. When it came to such things, Kairi felt she should not have expected anything less.

After all, it wasn't dumb luck that brought her to this island when she was just a little girl; it hadn't been just coincidence that she was a Princess of Heart and the two boys she befriended were future wielders of the Keyblade. It wasn't chance at all that the Heartless came to this island and the three of them were whisked away to face some grand evil.

No… somehow that had all been destiny in the making.

000

To say Roxas was waist-deep in a lot of trouble was an understatement.

After the Princess's unexpected collapse and trip to the hospital, he had gone back to his quarters to give his report… or at least what was _supposed _to be his report.

He had never heard so many expletives and threats pointed to end his life in such a short time before. It would have been quite amusing if Roxas's own patience level wasn't already spliced in half by the day's events. It wasn't as if he'd chased the Princess halfway across town for _fun_, he had wanted to tell them and would have if they hadn't kept cutting off his every opportunity to explain himself.

"_Should have known we couldn't leave this mission to you—"_

"_You're too much of a kid to handle this—"_

"_Really hopeless. I ain't so sure why Xemnas gave you this mission anyway—" _

Roxas had simply gritted his teeth, painfully hard, to keep himself from lashing back. It would only make things worse for him, he knew, considering the position he was in. And when they began questioning him, the need to snap grew more tempting, however he remained with his eyes, pinched with bottled fury, on the screen and replied to their inquiries at point blank.

"_So, let's get this straight again from the top. You found the Princess at a party." _And to make things more irritating they had Xigbar interrogate him, the bastard.

"Yes." His voice was cold.

"_And just as you were approaching her she suddenly… fainted?" _

"Yes." Again, how many times had he answered this?

"_So you take her to the hospital and just __**leave**__?" _

"No," Roxas growled impatiently, "For the millionth time, I said _I made sure she was okay first_ before I left." Were these people just idiots or were they somehow losing their hearing? "And she _is_ okay, I made sure of it—"

"_And how do you know that? You left—"_

"Well, the doctors said—"

"_I don't give a flying shit what the doctors said. Your job was to find this girl and stick with her like glue and that's what you've got to do. Do you understand?"_

Roxas set icy blue eyes away from the screen. His hand, which had been gripping the table-top counter, was turning white from the strength he was exuding on it. He had to tear his hand away before he winded up breaking it.

"_No.13, I said do you understand?"_

"Yes, I understand," he muttered, glaring at the table.

"_You better. I'll put you on standby. I'm going to transfer you to another line."_

As soon as he was gone, Roxas exhaled the angry breath he'd been holding. "Mother fuckers," he hissed to himself, but found he was too dog-tired to put any more of the usual vehemence than he would have liked.

He was exhausted and worn, and not simply from the physical exertion he'd undergone, but the mental strain he'd suffered too. Constantly assuring himself, over and over again, that Princess would be okay and that her sudden fainting wasn't due to anything serious was enough to drive anybody crazy.

He had been scared shit out of his mind when she fell like that. He had reacted on instinct; using his lightning speed to catch her just before she could hit the floor.

When he looked down at her, it had taken all his rational strength to keep calm. She wasn't moving; her eyes shut tight as if it were going to stay that way forever. He had cupped her cheeks in his hands, first to make sure she hadn't gotten injured while falling and second, to assure his own frantic mind that she really was alright. He had been a tad relieved to find warmth still there on her skin and a pulse beating steadily at the side of her neck when he'd checked. At least she was alive and knowing that had pulled Roxas through some of his fears.

Without another thought, he had scooped her up into his arms (was surprised by how light she was and how easy it was for him to do it) and her head rested against his shoulder, her hair brushing his chin. He brought her into the back and settled her on the small couch that had been there; he made sure she was comfortable enough before turning to the manager and ordering him to call the hospital right away.

And he… never left her side. Her friends had remained close by, looking just as worried and whispering amongst themselves, but he didn't pay them any heed nor did he acknowledge they were there. He didn't take his eyes off the Princess.

Watching her sleep had brought something – he didn't know what – but a definite something from the back of his mind. A tingling, horrible feeling that was desperate, felt helpless and gut-wrenching. There was something about watching her sleep, so unresponsive and frail, that had made his throat close up and his chest twist painfully. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought he had seen – no, _lived_ – this scenario once before… not very long ago.

But by then the ambulance had arrived, placed her on a stretcher and had put her gently inside the van. Roxas made a move to follow but the paramedic had stopped him.

"Sorry, only family are allowed to come," he said. "Are you family?"

"No, but—"

"Then you can't come along," said the paramedic firmly. "You'll just have to wait."

But that wasn't enough, Roxas thought, surprised to find that it really wasn't. He caught sight of the Princess, fast asleep and still so vulnerable – no, he couldn't. Roxas gritted his teeth. He _wouldn't_.

"I'm coming along," he said with a resolute firm of his head when the medic made signs of protesting again, "I'm coming along and that's final."

He argued long enough with the paramedic that his partner, exasperated and impatient, finally waved his hand at the both of them. "Oh for Pete's sake, Liam, if the kid says he wants to come just let him come already!"

Roxas rode all the way to the hospital, his eyes still trained on the Princess's face.

And at the hospital he did the best he could to make sure she was alright and comfortable – fluffing her pillows, tugging the blankets to her side, brushing stray hairs from her face… but even that had left him frayed and feeling hopeless.

Sitting by her bedside, waiting and wondering if she would ever wake up… it had been the longest thirty-five minute wait of his life. When the doctors had finally come in, he had sat up instantly, waiting, anxious and still and fearful all at once. When they said that she would be alright and that it was only due to fatigue and the heat, Roxas didn't think he had ever felt so relieved before; he could feel his breathing return to normal.

He left shortly after. He would have been more satisfied in his self-assurance if he could have stayed with her until she made signs of waking up, but he knew he couldn't stay. Besides, her family and her friends were there with her. She was _safe_ and that was all that mattered. He trusted them to take care of her while he was gone.

As he left the hospital, he couldn't help but wonder where this sudden… over-protectiveness had come from? It certainly hadn't been there before.

_It's because we need her_, he had thought after awhile. _It would be pointless to bring her along if something bad were to happen to her. Yeah…that's it._

However, even that line of thinking – as rational as it was – did not keep the doubts from spreading through his mind.

The beep on the screen momentarily brought him back to the present again, and this time, instead of haughty and annoying from the other end, Roxas was greeted by hard steel and cold velvet and a pair of unfeeling yellow eyes. It had Roxas straightening up from his seat.

"_Xigbar tells me the Princess of Heart was sent to the hospital today. Is that correct?"_ said Xemnas.

"Yes," said Roxas with a nod.

"_Tell me precisely what happened exactly,"_ said Xemnas, as he leaned forward into the screen.

"While I was approaching her, she just collapsed," said Roxas, doing his best not to think about his emotional ordeal during that time. Xemnas was staring at him, as though he were silently studying him. Roxas remained where he was, unflinching.

"_And that's all? She just… collapsed?"_ the Superior prodded.

"Yes, that's all," said Roxas, confused. What exactly was Xemnas searching for? "But she's safe, at least," he added, wondering if Xemnas cared enough about whether or not the Princess was safe.

"_I see."_ Xemnas's lips were a thin line, but his face was positively expressionless. Then he lifted his eyes and was staring at Roxas, curious. _"And __**you**__?"_

"Me?" Roxas repeated, jerking in surprise. "What about me?"

Xemnas's lip curled slightly. _"Did you experience anything… out of the ordinary since you've arrived there?"_

Roxas frowned. Something tickled the back of his head, like a memory. He briefly remembered the conversation he had with Axel earlier that morning and what he'd told him:

"_It's just… this place. Everything here… I don't know what it is, but there's something about this island … it's doing strange things to me." _

But that had all been in his head… right? It wasn't real. He was only thinking these things out of spite for being assigned this mission. It wasn't as if it was true… right? There was no way Xemnas could have possibly known what was going on in his own head. Right? _Right?_

Still doubtful, Roxas kept his voice neutral and his face void of any expressions.

"Unless you count getting a heat stroke out of the ordinary then no," he said, keeping his blue eyes trained to amber. "Why do you ask?"

The curl on Xemnas's lip neither lifted nor depressed. _"Just curious is all,"_ he said. _"We wouldn't want you to be incapacitated on this mission, now would we?" _

Roxas didn't know whether he should agree or not. The way he had said that… as if he was suggesting something else entirely… Roxas wasn't quite sure, but he didn't trust what was behind that tone.

Xemnas seemed unconcerned by his lack of response. _"I expect you to make an actual, full report the following night,"_ he said, and this time cold steel and smooth velvet had returned, _"No excuses."_

"Yes, sir," replied Roxas tersely.

"_Oh and Roxas?" _

Roxas could have groaned, but held his tongue. Inwardly, he was pleading for the end of this conversation.

"Yes?"

"_Do keep in mind we are expecting the Princess back no later than two weeks from now." _Xemnas's eyes penetrated Roxas's gut like acid._ "And judging by today's performance it would make one question whether or not you are truly capable of fulfilling this mission."_

Lava, scorching and intense, was burning his chest, wanting desperate for release. Roxas got the hint.

"I'll bring you the Princess, just you wait," Roxas all but snarled into the mouthpiece.

Xemnas smirked. _"See to it that you do."_

And the line went black.

Beyond irritated and angry, Roxas slammed the laptop down with such force he was sure he chipped the screen. He didn't care. Instead, with heated determination he found the Princess's files he had stashed underneath his bed and began poring through each and every single page. He was going to prove all those bastards wrong if it was the last thing he'd do, he thought.

So for the better part of the night, Roxas spent plowing through paper after paper until he could literally recite every detail by heart while ignoring the persistent drooping of his eyes which grew more frequent as the hours passed.

At some point in the night, however, his body must have decided enough was enough and opted for some shut eye, despite Roxas's stubborn refusal. He had barely been aware of falling asleep because the next thing he knew he was waking up to sunlight and paper madness all around him. The fact that he had slept in the clothes he'd worn the day before did not go unnoticed by him.

"Oh you're awake. Finally, geez…" said an exasperated voice, startling Roxas who had been in the process of getting up.

He tried not to groan when he saw Axel, sitting by the computer table, a cup of coffee in his hand. To think, with the number of times Axel had showed up to greet him good morning, he would have been used to it by now… or at least be a bit more tolerable.

Axel gave him a dry expression in return. "You could at least _pretend_ to act like you're glad to see me."

Roxas grunted. "Bullshitting is never something I thought I had to do with you, Axel," he said, and Axel chuckled darkly.

"Touché," he relented.

Heaving himself off the mattress, he rubbed at his eyes to wipe away the sleep.

"You've got drool on you face by the way," said Axel, by way of passing, still staring at his coffee cup.

Roxas made a face at him, but sure enough, he felt a dab of wetness at the corner of his mouth when he traced his fingers over his cheek. The wet blotch on the surface of his pillowcase did not help cover up the evidence either. Impatiently, he rubbed it away and grabbed himself a cup of coffee. He was never very fond of the taste – hated it in fact – but he suppose if was ever going to get through the rest of the day without keeling over he was going to need triple the amount.

"And what brings you here this morning?" said Roxas, cutting to the chase. He took a sip from his cup and did his best not to cringe at the bitter taste against his tongue. Ugh. How is it that Axel could chug this down like he was inhaling it through his nostrils? It was disgusting. Roxas gradually took another sip.

There was a pause before Axel slowly muttered, "It's passed noon already, Roxas."

_Really?!_ More awake now, he glanced up at the clock. 2:10. Well… damn, he thought, for once, a little flummoxed.

He turned back to Axel, a little weary now. "Is that why you're here?" he asked. "To scold me for sleeping in?"

It impressed him, sometimes, how promptly he could muster the sarcasm despite running on less than the usual sleep. He was sure, if Axel wasn't looking at him so stern and so seriously at the moment, he'd have found it amusing too.

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Geez, I'm sorry, mother, it won't happen again. Why can't you—"

Axel cut him off, sharply, "Roxas, I heard about last night."

Roxas stiffened automatically as he immediately recalled the unpleasant events of the night before. Remembering them was still sore on his ego and it wasn't something he wanted to be constantly reminded of let alone discuss, least of all with Axel. Not if his friend was only here to give him another lengthy dose of how his performance was "less-than acceptable". He turned his back and faced the wall, ready for the confrontation.

"What about it?" he said, more coldly than he intended.

"First of all, I'm not here to lecture you if that's what you're thinking, so you can quit acting like an ass already," said Axel shortly, snorting.

Roxas glanced over his shoulder and saw Axel was smirking. It made the tension on his shoulders loosen slightly, but he couldn't help smiling back nonetheless.

"The Boss-man must have said something outrageous to make you pissed enough to look like a dog that was caught out in a storm or something," said Axel, unabashedly.

"Do you always have such an eloquent way of putting things?" said Roxas dryly.

But as he passed by the mirror in the washroom, he realized Axel's descriptions weren't that far off. He really did look like he'd been standing out in a storm: his hair was messier than normal and there was a distinct shadow that ran beneath both his eyes; his shirt had many creases and wrinkles where he had moved and slept on.

"I'd rather not talk about last night, okay, Axel?" he sighed, shaking his head. "Right now, I'm still trying to resist the urge to strangle something and I'd rather not kill you if I can help it." Funny enough, Roxas meant it.

Axel wasn't intimidated though. "I wasn't going to ask anyway," he said, evidently amused. "I heard enough from Larxene and Demyx already to write a _novel_ about it."

Roxas scowled. Figures this would end up as the top subject for gossip matter. "Whatever," he muttered.

"Seriously though, no offense, but you look like _hell_ – what did you do: drink yourself into a stupor?" said Axel, wryly eying Roxas as he drank the last of his coffee.

"If only it were that easy," he replied bitterly. "No, I was up late reading the rest of the Princess's files."

"Speaking of the Princess," said Axel casually, "that was pretty bold of you to ride with her all the way to the hospital like that."

Roxas felt a spike of his anxiety from earlier. He'd rather not remember that either.

He shifted in his spot, half uncomfortable, half defensive. "Yeah, well, we need her don't we?"

Truthfully, Xemnas – or anybody for that matter – hadn't even told him _why_ they needed the Princess in the first place. They were likely not to tell him anything anyway so asking would be pointless. During the passed several months he had worked for this organization he was quick to learn that they only filled you in on what you were required to know; in other words, in what they only _wanted_ you to know.

And while Roxas generally opposed some of the missions he'd been assigned to, as well as the tactics involved in their succession, he'd done them all despite his preceding sentiments.

"If anything had happened to her it would mean more trouble for me." Then he remembered telling Xemnas about the Princess's condition and the man didn't even bat an eyelash. "I mean you guys wouldn't be breathing down my neck all the time if she wasn't so important, right?"

"How do you know we don't breathe down your neck just to piss you off?" said Axel, innocently and earned a not so graceful gesture from Roxas's middle finger in return. The redhead laughed. "Well, c'mon, we have a lot of ground to cover if we want to make up for your 100 years of beauty sleep." He got up from his chair.

"W-What? What do you mean?" stuttered Roxas, pausing in his step.

Axel just grinned, and there was something almost perpetually sinister about that smile that was making Roxas very nervous. "Roxas, didn't you want to know the reason why I'm here?"

And suddenly, Roxas wished he _had_ been in a stupor.

000

And this had brought Roxas to his current situation: huddled behind a bush with Axel in front of the Princess's house.

If Roxas wasn't so immediately against this plan in the first place, he would have stopped to admire how amazing the structure of the house was – it wasn't huge by any stretch but it was definitely bigger than the rest of the houses in the block; pristine-white all around with beige-shuttered windows and doors. There was a garden, rich in green and flowers, and a small fountain similar to that of the school's.

However, Roxas paid little mind to the details.

"Axel, this is stupid – what if we get caught?" he hissed.

"For the millionth time already: we won't get caught. Now will you just sit still? Your constant moving about is driving me nuts."

"And how am I supposed to relax with you…s-spying with those!" He pointed. Axel was peering through the bushes with a pair of binoculars. "Do you realize how bad that's going to look if we're caught? We're could be accused of being peeping toms!"

"Don't get your panties in a twist," Roxas made an undignified sound, "I'm just waiting for the right opportunity, that's all."

"Opportunity? What opportunity?" Roxas echoed and ducked as a couple walked passed them. Once they were gone, Roxas glared at his best friend. "Oh, you mean an opportunity to get _caught_?"

Axel put down the binoculars. "Oh for the love of all things holy," he said, exasperated, "how many times do I have to say—oh, shoot duck!"

They duck their heads in time as a girl came jogging passed them, frowning slightly where they were hidden, however, did not look twice when she rounded the corner.

"You were saying?" said Roxas heatedly, but Axel simply ignored him and took up his binoculars again. He groaned, slapping his forehead. "Axel, just _go_ already. As much as I appreciate you helping me out, I really don't need it. I can do this on my own."

Axel continued to ignore him.

Roxas made an impatient noise. "Axel, you're being a real pain in—"

"Oh, _you're_ the one being a pain in the ass," Axel said, glaring at him this time. "If I left it up to you, you wouldn't even be here right now—"

"You mean I wouldn't be hiding in the bushes like some creep—"

"I told you, we're waiting for the opportunity—"

"The opportunity to do what? Spy while some girl is changing?!"

"Why is it everything I do automatically make you assume it's something perverted?"

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Gee, I don't know, Axel, you tell me."

Axel opened his mouth to argue, but then something in the distance caught his eye. "Just shut up and look over there."

Roxas glanced up the road. A woman with short brown hair was coming down the street, her hands full of bags.

"And you want me to be her handyman is that it?" said Roxas deprecatingly. "Be a gentleman and help her carry those bags to her house?"

"Look more closely," said Axel.

Roxas frowned but squinted to get a better look. He'd seen that woman before, he thought slowly as she came closer and closer to where they were huddled. Then it dawned to him.

"That's… that's the Princess's mother," he said.

"Exactly," said Axel, grinning smugly. "And that, my friend, is the opportunity you've been waiting for."

"It is?" said Roxas, blinking. He looked at the woman, but couldn't seem to understand what his friend was getting at.

"Dear God, Roxas, I knew it was hot here but did the heat officially fry your brain or something?" said Axel disbelievingly.

"Or maybe it's because I'm hanging out behind a bush with _you_," Roxas retorted.

"Just think about it!" said Axel, eagerly. "What better way to see the Princess than through her parental unit?"

"You mean you want me to…" he glanced at the Princess's mother again and swallowed, "But _how_?"

Axel was still grinning as he stood up. "Just leave it to me."

Alarmed, Roxas stammered, "But w-what are you going to—"

Axel shushed him. He waited before the Princess's mother to make it to where they were hiding before he plummeted himself against her, startling both her and Roxas and she cried out in surprise and dropped her bags.

"Oh, sorry about that, Ma'am," said Axel cheerfully, as he jogged on the spot. "I didn't see you there—"

The woman stared at him incredulously, not that Roxas could blame her. He suppose if some bright red-haired stranger came out of a bush, claimed to not have seen him when there was just no way he could have missed him then he'd be wondering if this man was an idiot too.

"Well, see you later then!" said Axel brightly, turning to jog ahead.

"Wait," said the woman, stumbling a bit, only to falter and drop to her knees, "can't you… wait! Please, I need—"

"Sorry, I'm kind of in a rush!" Axel gave Roxas a pointed look (one that meant Roxas owed him now) before he was running up the street. As he disappeared, leaving the woman in midst of fallen grocery bags, Roxas couldn't help but feel a jab of remorse for her and annoyance towards his friend.

But it gave Roxas the 'opportunity' he'd, indeed, been looking for, so while the woman was busy trying to pick up her things, Roxas carefully and quietly came out of his hiding spot in the bush.

"That horrible, horrible man," she was muttering angrily, just as Roxas stopped beside her and cleared his throat.

The unexpected sound had sent her into another state of surprise and she winded up dropping the bags she'd just picked up all over again. Roxas inwardly cringed.

"Oh!" the woman said, staring at him. "Oh, I—"

Roxas took a deep breath and gave her an easy smile. "You look like you could use some help." He held out his hand to her.

The expression the woman gave him was so grateful that it made Roxas feel even worse about the whole ordeal.

"Thank you so much," she whispered as Roxas helped her to her feet. She rubbed her hands together and huffed, "Some guy just ran into me and didn't even stop to help—oh you don't have to carry all of them, dear, my house isn't that far from here."

Roxas shrugged. "It's okay," he said. "I'll carry them to your door. Where's your place?" He pretended to look around.

The woman pointed at the white house across from them. "That's it, right there," she said.

Roxas nodded appreciatively. "That's a beautiful house you've got there," he said.

"You think so?" she said excitedly, walking beside him, "I just had the exterior fixed. The garden is my current project right now. I've been meaning to set up another fountain somewhere or perhaps a patio—"

As she chatted away, Roxas felt a spark of excitement rush through him. It was different from the nervous rush he'd felt when meeting the Princess for the first time. He wasn't certain of the change, but he knew the cause for it:

Yeah, he thought, he was going to prove those bastards wrong… one way or another.

"There you go," he said as he put the groceries down into her hallway. "Can you manage?" he asked kindly.

The woman nodded. "Yes, I think so." She smiled at him, her brown eyes twinkling. "Thanks again, Mr…?"

"Fujioma Takeru," he said easily, before taking her hand and kissing the top of it. He smiled at her. "But you can just call me Takeru."

The woman flushed, both from embarrassment and from flattery. "Alright, Takeru-kun," she said. "I'm Maia… the Mayor is my husband."

"Ah, Mrs. M," said Roxas, nodding as if in understanding, "explains why this house seems different from the rest." He nodded again. "Well, it's a pleasure meeting you, Maia."

"Wait, Takeru-kun," she said and he paused by the door. "Since you helped me and all, why don't you come in side and stay awhile? Have some tea?" she said, smiling.

Roxas's lips curled upward. "Sure."

000

Kairi didn't know what she was expecting when her mother suddenly called her down. She had thought she had wanted her to stay in bed.

She supposed moving around the house was a way better option than sitting in bed for the rest of the day. She jogged down the stairs, calling, "Mom?" but receiving no more than the echoes of her laughter coming from the kitchen. And from the sounds of it, Kairi frowned, she wasn't alone. "Mom?"

She pushed the drawing doors. Her mother was putting away the groceries, chatting animatedly about something or other, but that wasn't what had suddenly frozen her to her spot. No.

Sitting casually on one of the chairs was a boy – a boy with tousled, sunlit hair which only looked too familiar to Kairi, as she slowly, blankly, approached.

Her mother turned around and spotted her. "Oh, Kairi, there you!" she said but Kairi barely heard her. "Oh, Kairi, this is Fujioma Takeru—"the boy turned around and Kairi almost gasped—it was _him_.

It was the boy from the ice cream parlor, the one who had ridden with her all the way to the hospital, who had gone through great measures to look after her—the exact boy whom she'd been searching for. His eyes were as blue as she remembered them, so much like the sky… so much like—

"Takeru-kun, this is my daughter, Kairi."

The boy—Takeru—stood up and casually made his way over to her. His walk, his forming smile and the way his eyes just wouldn't leave her face—Kairi had a distinct, fleeting second of déjà vu.

She couldn't find it in herself to say anything as he stood before her, several inches taller than her as the smell of his shirt, like wind and sea and soap, everything she liked, threatened to overwhelm her. She couldn't look away either.

His face, his eyes, his smell—almost everything about him—was screaming _Sora_ at her, and yet there was something relatively different that made her hold back. His eyes, despite how bright a blue they were, there was still something in them that was clouded and dark and just _off_.

"Kairi," said the blonde boy, his voice low and deep.

He kissed the top of her hand and gave her the softest smile she had ever seen, and Kairi felt something in her heart snap and break.

"It's nice to meet you."

And somewhere in the distance, Kairi thought she heard someone crying.


End file.
